Zero in the Mojave
by BeanCorn
Summary: After 'completing' the Familiar Summoning Spell, Louise is thrust into the lifeless sands of the Mojave Wasteland. Her status made irrelevant, her lessons useless, she is forced to adapt to a constantly changing world that kills the unwary every day. Where will an experienced Courier fit into all of this? What will be the fate, of the Zero? Reader discretion strongly advised.
1. Pilot

**A/N: Hello faithful readers, new bloods, and canon hounds alike! Today I bring you my newest FoZ Crossover, Zero in the Mojave. As the title suggests, Louise the Zero is sent to the hot sands of the Mojave during the Familiar Summoning Ritual. She will experience firsthand the anarchy of the Wasteland, the depravity of its people, and the horrors that were born from nuclear fire. As this is as what's referred to as a 'reverse-summons,' this can be considered an FOZ Alternate Universe (AU).**

**In any case, I invite canon hounds to critique my work to ensure I remain as faithful as possible to the legacy that Fallout created, from the Capital Wasteland, Chicago, and California to the Mojave. We will be supercharging our heroes with two considerably sized mods, Weapon Mods Expanded (WMX), and the Leveler's House. I advise readers to read up on both mods to understand the depth of them and their influence on the story (as well as gameplay).**

**I present to you, the Zero in the Mojave.**

* * *

The taste of sand in a young girl's mouth along with the blasting heat of the sun brought the pink-haired maiden back to reality. She looked nervously around, and saw nothing similar.

_'It was supposed to be a gryphon or a manticore, a noble familiar.'_

Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere stood up to her meager five foot two inch height and saw nothing but exotic plants and sand in all directions. The light smell of salt hung in the air, along with the smell of burning papyrus.

"Look what we got here boys!" Louise froze in place and slowly turned around to see a group of raggedly dressed gangsters approaching. Fear immediately caused her to stumble and shake at the dirty men and women approaching her. Some carried large blunt objects, while others carried strange looking muskets and pistols. Their armor seemed to be made up of pieces of scrap and junk, and barely covered anything.

"Mm, she looks so tight, doesn't she boys?" Hollers and jeers answered as he drew a switchblade and popped the spring loaded knife open, "All we gotta do is cut those weird clothes off and-."

'Those filthy commoners!' She pointed her wand at the lead bandit in front of her, "Fireball!"

"What was that supposed to do-?" The lead thug was blasted back by a concussive blast, and was sent into the rest of the group.

Louise stood up to run, only to hear a gunshot and searing pain envelop her right leg. As she dropped to the ground and screamed in pain, she looked down and saw a ragged hole in her thigh. The round went in one side and tore out the front, making walking impossible. Louise tore her mantle off and immediately tied it around her leg as a tourniquet as she began to crawl away towards what looked like a collapsed horse.

She made it to the animal, only to be shocked by the sight of a two headed cow in front of her, one whose skin was peeling in ways that screamed death and decomposition. By that time however, the raiders had caught up with her, the lead stepped on her shredded thigh for emphasis.

The sounds of Louise's screams of agony proved to not only thrill the Fiends, but to attract the attention of a Courier and a former Caravaneer.

* * *

The sound of a pained, horrified scream not far away caused the Courier to jump briefly.

"Did you hear that Cass?"

The red-headed woman nodded as she pulled her 20 Gauge from her back, "I did, and it was in the direction of the Caravan wreckage."

The scarred man pulled his own weapon, a heavily modified hunting shotgun known only as the 'Dinner Bell' from his back. With a solid one handed pump he charged forward, the 12 Gauge at the ready.

* * *

Louise was crying as the lead Raider began to slowly, painfully cut her clothes off. The pinkette knew she was going to be raped, and beaten by these men. The thought of shaming her family name and disappointing her legendary mother were in the forefront of her mind.

_'Forgive me mother, forgive me father. I just wasn't strong enough.'_

With a final cut, her panties and skirt came flying off, the stinging wind of the Mojave came across her skin. The sound of unbuckling pants was the only thing that could she hear, but the unwanted sensation of moisture being spit onto her loins was the worst of all.

_'No! I don't want it, not like this!'_

"Look at that boys! She's enjoying this!" Countless jeers and hollers emerged again as the lead raider aimed his member for the young maiden's sex, only to collapse suddenly on top of her. The sensation of something warm coming over her body instantly made her shudder, but the sounds of panic surrounding her instantly tuned that out. Gunshots. Powerful, chest shaking gunshots were felt as the Raiders around her fell one by one. The sounds and smells of death surrounded her as the pinkette dropped all noble pride in an instant to play dead.

* * *

The Courier and Cassidy Rose reloaded their weapons and approached the center of the group. The moans of dying Fiends were met with buckshot as they found the pantless Fiend.

"Unless the Fiends are into being voyeurs I think who we're looking for is underneath him James."

The Courier nodded, "Let me get rid of this guy." The T-51b's enhanced strength let him tear the would-be rapist off the ground and toss him aside like a ragdoll. As he turned to see what was under him he was horrified to see a mostly nude young child, who seemingly appeared to be no older than 14 shivering underneath.

"She's in shock, we need to get her medical aid immediately!" James went to reach for her, only to have his hand smacked away by Cassie.

"She nearly got raped James, I've got this. Can you loan me your duster?" The Courier nodded as he atomized his casual attire and handed it to the former Caravaneer. He turned away respectfully as Cassie turned the young woman over.

* * *

Louise was terrified when she found herself being uncovered, and then turned over. The sight of eyes that had concern rather than lust in them immediately calmed her nerves as the new person began to talk, "Are you okay young lady?"

The pinkette nervously looked around to find her assailants brutally killed and in various states of dismemberment and evisceration. Her greatest shock was the sight of a massively armored giant standing above the woman. With a squeal she tried to back away as the woman chuckled, "Relax, he's a big softie. Couldn't harm a fly."

An audible, snort came from the man as he started to talk with a distorted voice, "Cass, is she dressed yet? We need to get her to an actual doctor before more Fiends show up or dusk comes."

"Relax James, you can't rush this sort of thing, if you have a problem, go make sure no more Fiends come by." The large armored man slowly walked away as Cassie slid the large, oversized jacket across Louise's now bottomless body. I'm going to pick you up and carry you to a doctor with my friend over there, alright?" Louise nodded as she was picked up gingerly, the last sensation she felt was the slight prick of a needle jabbed into her leg as she fell asleep.

* * *

**Two Hours Later**

**East New Vegas**

**Medical Clinic**

"You're lucky you got her in here when you did, another ten minutes and she would be having her bones cleaned by the ravens." Dr. Usanagi, a Followers of the Apocalypse doctor and implant specialist read off her clipboard, "The round, a 10mm hollow point from the tissue damage, nicked her femoral artery, the timely use of a stimpack and Med-X to prevent shock and unnecessary blood loss likely saved her life."

The Courier nodded, "I appreciate it doctor, I really do."

The Asiatic doctor waved him off, "You've done so much for the Followers as of late; this was a small token of our gratitude."

"Can we go see her? I have some questions, as does Mr. House."

She stiffened, "That may not be the best ideas Mr. Winfield. You know what that man has done in the past, more than anyone else. A man interrogating her could potentially worsen her mental state as well."

James held out a hand in a peaceful, yet firm gesture, "I know, believe me. The scar on my face is because of him, but we work together because business and survival demand it. I don't like him anymore then you do, but even I can't hold him off forever." The fact that revenge against his attempted killer was his main goal remained unsaid.

"Very well Mr. Winfield, she's in exam room two. Your companions are already with her now."

"Thank you Dcotor."

* * *

Louise was still in pain from her gunshot wound, but was astonished by how fast it had healed, and without magic! Something called a 'stimpak' was injected into her leg, along with some stitches and a wound cleaning; her leg was well on the way to being back to normal. She had been smiling and giggling with her newfound (and likely only) friends.

The two women who had joined her in the clinic were the one who had carried her, a red-headed merchant named Cassie; and a heavily armed (and rather witty) woman named Veronica. While her social standing demanded these 'commoners' be subservient and show fealty, the young noblewoman had no desire to earn the ire of her rescuers. After all, she was a Valliere, a model of what all nobles should aspire to be.

The pair had foreign accents, cementing her belief that she was in fact, very far from home. The language was virtually identical to Standard Albionian, with some minor grammatical and contraction variation. The coincidence was rather remarkable, and suspicious. The weapons they carried were also unfamiliar, from the odd device the latter held on her right arm, to the folding musket the former wielded. Questions continued to form, but were held back by her will alone.

Veronica had been entertaining her and Cassie when a solid knock was heard from the door. The two locals looked to Louise, who after giggling again answered, "Come in!"

A brief pause was followed by the large armored man walking inside, his musket secured behind his back and his helmet held in the crook of his right arm. The man was rather attractive to her, young, athletic, and likely experienced. The size of his armor and his weapons also suggested he was from a wealthy family or from a high class in society. A brief blush came across Louise's face as the rugged, handsome Caucasian male walked inside.

Unfortunately for the patient, Veronica instantly noticed the growing red on Louise's face and pointed it out to everyone, "See something you like Louise?"

The pinkette grabbed her pillow and threw it into Veronica's face, an adorable pout coming onto the young woman's face as she crossed her arms and huffed indignantly.

* * *

The Courier shook his head at that, "Lay off Veronica, she's still in bed. Once she gets all better she may end up kicking your ass."

The Brotherhood Scribe raised her personal Power Fist into the air, "Not if I punch her first!"

Cass rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath as Louise retained her pout, although one that was far less serious then before.

In any case young lady, we have yet to be introduced." He held his hand out, "I am Paladin James Winfield of the Brotherhood of Steel. And you are miss?"

The girl bowed as deeply as she could, "My name is Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of La Valliere. I'm certain my family will reward you for your efforts Sir Knight."

The Courier immediately felt confused by the entirety of the young woman's long name, "So . . . Louise then?"

Both Cass and Veronica broke out laughing at the expression of disbelief and confusion on his face before Louise's face puffed back up, "Clearly you are all foreign and don't know of Tristain and its Royal Family. My family, the Vallieres, are second only to the Royal Family in power and influence. I am actually cousins with the current Crown Princess, Henrietta de Tristain."

The sudden seriousness of the young woman immediately caught the Courier off-guard, "You're serious, aren't you? There hasn't been a Royal Family in the entirety of the Wasteland, from here to the NCR in the west."

A look of horror came across her face, "What do you mean you haven't heard of Tristain?!" Heads shook in the negative, "Halkeginia?" Heads shook again, "Let me see a map!"

Louise was panicking now, everyone who was someone knew of Tristain, whether you were a heathen Elf or from Rub Al Khali in the East. The possibility of being farther away was a terrifying idea to her. After a few minutes, Paladin Winfield came in with a sort of circular object held in place by two points.

"I need to see this, please Sir Winfield." The armored man nodded and set the sphere in front of her, "Why is your map round? The world is flat, isn't it?" Looks of disbelief dotted the group, "What?"

The group looked to one another in shock before glancing back to the now hyperventilating teenager.

The honorary Paladin scratched the back of his head, "I think we have a lot of explaining to do." He looked at each person in the room, "All of us. First thing's first however, we need to head back to the Lucky 38, the doctor has done everything she can for Louise."

The caravaneer nodded, "The Strip is closer, and while we normally could travel in the night-."

"We have someone who is clearly unfamiliar with the Wasteland and everything that tries to kill you in it," Veronica finished.

Louise seemed confused, "Lucky 38?"

* * *

Three sets of facepalms echoed through the clinc's halls, causing a guard who had fallen asleep in his chair to fall flat onto his face.

_'Damn Psycho addiction.'_

* * *

**1900 Local Time**

**Freeside, New Vegas**

The three Wastelanders and Louise slowly made their way through the slums of Freeside as the pinkette slowly made her way down the street on crutches. While still very much in pain and focused on where she was walking, the noblewoman took every chance she could get to take in the atmosphere of Freeside. The consensus being that it made the most run down sections of Tristainia look like the Noble Quarter.

The sight of a single moon horrified Louise, but the pain from her leg kept her focused on putting one foot - and two crutches - in front of the other.

She was naturally curious, "Sir Winfield, why is everything so-?"

She struggled to find the right words before Cass shamelessly chimed in, "Fucked up?"

Louise was shocked by the crude language the former merchant spoke with, but answered quickly, "More or less, yes."

The Courier answered for her, "The slums of New Vegas, or Freeside as its called, is where the vast majority of the city's citizens live. Only the very influential, very powerful, or very lucky ones get onto The Strip, the massive passport fee is enough to keep all but the well-off folk in poverty."

The sight of a pair of children chasing what looked like a fat animal caused Louise to scream as a huge rat came at her. The giant rat smelled blood and tried to take a bite, only to receive an armored boot square in the jaw, and slam into a collapsed storefront. The animal, now paralyzed was helpless as the children began to devour the creature while its heart still beat.

That visual had been enough for Louise to lose the rest of her breakfast into the burned out hulk of a car. She continued to vomit, supported by both of her female companions, while being guarded by the Courier.

"Looks like we found someone boys!" She snapped her head up to see an even dirtier man with a little blade not unlike the Fiend from before charge the group recklessly. Before she could grab for her wand, a massive thunderclap detonated feet from the pinkette. The sight of the man's torso being torn open from a .45-70 Government issue hollow point cartridge was enough to make her turn away as he fell to the ground with an extremely unpleasant splat.

"W-what was that? C-c-couldn't you have just beat him up?"

The Courier turned to the three, his revolver still smoked, "We need to hurry, more of the locals will come out soon enough if we don't get moving." He took the pinkette in a bridal carry (much to her protest) as the three rushed to the Strip's North Gate.

* * *

**Lucky 38**

**2030 Hours**

Louise was finally able to breathe easy as Veronica laid her into bed, with her bad leg slightly elevated. The Brotherhood member had told her earlier that Paladin Winfield would speak to her about everything tomorrow.

She struggled to maintain decorum befitting that of a noble, but tossed it away as she hugged the Scribe whole-heartedly, "Thank you Veronica, for everything you and the others have done for me."

Veronica put her hands together and cooed, "Aw, someone is getting all sappy on me."

The pinkette tossed a nearby pillow into her face, "Goodnight Veronica."

A light chuckle came from the brunette, "Goodnight Louise."

* * *

**Lucky 38 – Penthouse**

**That Same Time**

The Courier stepped off the elevator and with every thundering step came closer to the mainscreen that held Mr. House's digital visage.

"Mr. House."

"I'm glad you came by when you did Mr. Winfield, I was meaning to talk to you about our new guest."

"She's a mystery, a complete unknown who is either incredibly delusional, or something completely different."

"Indeed she is. There seems to be a pattern with this young woman however, minutes before you encountered her, a large blast of Theta and Cherenkov radiation was detected very close to the site of your first contact."

"An energy pulse like that would've been be easily picked up if it had happened previously, Cherenkov and Theta waves aren't the standard byproducts of nuclear fission or fusion."

"Correct Mr. Winfield, it makes me curious, and most importantly, cautious. We don't know who this person is, and who she represents."

The Courier nodded, "All we have is the information she gave us, her name and the name of a country and a place called 'Halkeginia.'"

"That information only raises more questions Mr. Winfield, I took the liberty of searching my archives for information on these words she spoke. Some, such as Halkeginia had no more then a passing reference in Latin, while the word Valliere had a considerable Pre-War information treasure trove."

The Courier nodded, as House continued, "Valliere was a noble peerage in Pre-War France, specifically on the border with what was once Belgium. When the bombs fell Europe took heavy hits, most of which came from the Soviet Union. Her accent is very much authentic however, this is all the more strange considering no one in the Mojave, the NCR, or any tribes within 500 miles speak with such an accent, or speaks French at all.

"It raises more questions, then answers."

"Correct again Mr. Winfield, I would like to speak with Miss Valliere sometime tomorrow morning, 1100 should be acceptable."

"I'll let her know when she wakes up in the morning Mr. House."

"And Mr. Winfield, I'd like to see her alone."

The Courier stopped in place before responding, "I believe someone she is familiar with should be present. It will help in both gathering information and educating her on the dangers of the Wasteland, should her story be accurate."

A slight grumble came from the viewscreen, "Very well Winfield, we'll do things your way. Go on, off with you."

* * *

**Lucky 38 – Presidential Suite**

**0800 Hours**

Louise awoke to the sound of _'Johnny Guitar_,' and the smell of fresh cooking meat as Cass knocked on the wall of her 'room', "Louise? It's time for breakfast!"

"Nyah, five more minutes Cattleya."

Cass pushed her shoulders, and turned on the lights, "Come on Louise, we need to get up, you've got a busy day ahead of you. You have a meeting with Mr. House later!"

She rubbed her eyes and squawked, "W-who are you?!"

The Caravaneer rolled her eyes, "It's Cass, remember, from yesterday? Saved you from those Fiends? Ringing a bell yet?"

Memories flashed through Louise's head, of the attempted rape and her gunshot wound before shook her head, "So, it wasn't all a nightmare."

"No, it's all too real, for you and everyone here in the Wasteland."

Cass helped change the pinkette's bandage and then instructed her on how to get dressed with a Pre-War sundress that Mr. House had provided her with. All the while complaining about how commoners were supposed to dress noblewomen.

The two girls walked to the kitchen and found Veronica and the Courier already at the table. Both Cass and Louise both sat down, the former began to eat immediately while Louise prayed to Brimir, the Founder of the Church, and the Queen for her meal.

Once she had finished, she picked her head up to find the three Wastelanders staring at her.

"What? Don't you pray to Brimir as well?"

* * *

**Lucky 38 – Penthouse**

**1100 Hours**

Louise, content with breakfast came via the elevator with Victor and the Courier in tow. She followed him across the massive Penthouse suite and both sat on two comfortable lounge chairs set up previously.

"Miss Valliere, I presume?" Louise jumped up, and looked nervously around for the voice, only for Mr. House's face to appear on the viewscreen above them. "Be calm Miss Valliere, I am Mr. House, I rule The Strip, the center of New Vegas and civilization here in the Mojave Wasteland."

"A-a-are you some sort of spirit?" The teachings of the Church instantly took the forefront of her mind as she assumed a makeshift combat stance.

"No, I am not Miss Valliere, I am very much human," the overlord of New Vegas paused before continuing. "I brought you here to answer some of the many questions I have regarding your appearance and origins."

Louise sat back down, "I'm not sure I follow Lord House."

"To put it bluntly Miss Valliere, you are an anomaly. You appeared in the Mojave with no explanation, and a vastly different political and socio-economical perspective; one that hasn't been seen in centuries, if not longer. I want answers, and the content of them will determine your future here in the Mojave."

Her eyes narrowed, "I won't be intimidated by threats Lord House. Someone of your station should understand the implications of making such threats."

"I do not make threats Miss Valliere, I only state facts. In New Vegas my word is law, you can either accept the fact, or be buried by it. The choice, and consequences, are yours."

Louise relaxed, as she tried to maintain her calm façade despite her defeat, "Very well Lord House, what is it you would like to know?"

"Let's start with the last thing you were doing before you came to the Mojave, if you would?"

* * *

Over an hour passed before Mr. House stopped Louise from continuing, the sheer information overload was enough to give the businessman a migraine.

"Let me summarize what I've heard so far, you are from a continent called Halkeginia, it closely resembles the Earth continent of Europe in both geography and culture of that of the Middle Ages. Your night sky has not just one, but two orbiting moons. The current number of nations are five, four of which are led by a direct descendant of the Founder of your faith Brimir."

The man continued unabated, "The people are divided into the common class, or plebeians and the noble, ruling class. The former is made up of normal human beings, while the latter is filled with humans capable of casting actual magic from the four elements, and a fifth, supposedly extinct branch of magic. Have I gotten it right so far?"

Louise nodded, "Do you both believe me now?"

House couldn't help but huff, "This story is so ridiculous and detailed it would be equally improbable to dismiss it in its entirety. I don't understand half of what you've said, but what I can comprehend strikes a shocking resemblance to earlier human history. Your education is likely greater then that of any ordinary citizen of New Vegas and you have a natural talent for politics and negotiation. You are too valuable to simply toss away because of your . . . eclectic behaviors."

Winfield crossed his armored arms, "She's useful to both of us House, having us work together; having myself and the others train her in surviving the Wastes is a mutually beneficial arrangement."

The landlord of the Lucky 38 didn't respond quickly, but relented, "Very well Winfield, she works for me, but she needs to be trained by you and those that accompany you. Myself and the Vegas families will not pay for her equipment that will be needed in those endeavors. Her origins are to be kept secret at all times, and kept from the other factions in the Wasteland. This includes the other families on the Strip, with Benny's previous actions this shouldn't be a surprise. There's no telling how the Brotherhood, the NCR, or the Legion would react knowing her origins. Don't disappoint me Mr. Winfield, I'll be watching."

In an instant, House disappeared from the viewscreen and left the noblewoman and the Courier to leave the Penthouse.

Louise curtseyed as she held her hand out, "Shall we go Sir Winfield?"

The Courier smirked and bowed theatrically, "Of course Lady Valliere."

* * *

**Lucky 38 – Presidential Suite**

**1230 Hours**

"So, Louise is going to be with us from here on out?"

The Courier nodded, "She will be training with us in everything she needs to survive here in the Wasteland. In addition, we'll need to ensure that her physical health is sufficient to survive out here. I will take her back to the clinic and get her implants if it becomes necessary. First thing is to equip her with the weapons to survive here in the Wasteland."

Louise scoffed, "A noblewoman needs only her wand to rule, not some barbaric musket."

Veronica couldn't help but smirk, "So, energy weapons it is then?"

The pinkette cocked her head subconsciously, "Energy weapons? Are those powered by magic or some other form of sorcery?"

The Courier shook his head, "Energy weapons don't use bullets to kill, they use extremely powerful bursts of energy, the most common of which is laser and plasma weaponry. Lasers hit with moderate force, reach the target instantly and are highly accurate. On the other hand, plasma takes time to reach the target, has very high damage potential, and is more accurate at close range."

Louise frowned at the thought of using a commoner's weapon, "It's still a commoner's weapon Sir Winfield."

Cass chuckled, "Energy weapons are anything but common Louise, only the best equipped and paid individuals use them. They require specialized training and constant maintenance to stay functional, and are extremely expensive to purchase."

Winfield continued, "The only factions that use energy weapons consistently are the Brotherhood of Steel, the Van Graff merchant family, a few Super Mutants, and some of the Fiends. The same raiders you encountered yesterday. Everyone else uses guns, and if your weapon breaks or runs out of ammunition you'll need to be able to use any gun you find to survive." He sighed, "We need to take you to my place in Goodsprings and get you equipped, most of my weapons and armor are there."

"If we leave now James we can make it to Novac by nightfall, and Goodsprings by the end of the second day," the Caravaneer offered.

Louise looked on the map that was posted on the wall, "Why would it take that long? It's a direct route down this center road here." She pointed at the Long 15 which passed straight from Freeside, past Camp McCarran to the Mojave Outpost in the southwest.

Cass frowned, "That section of road is a no-go, the quarry and Black Mountain," she pointed to both sites, "Are infested with Deathclaws and Super Mutants."

The names of both abominations made the pinkette squirm, "How bad are both of those?"

Veronica pinched her nose, "A Deathclaw is the ultimate hunter, astounding senses of smell, hearing, and sight allow them to easily detect both hunters and their prey. A single swipe from a young Deathclaw can cleave a man in two, and any size Deathclaw can outrun any human being. Both in endurance and top speed. Super Mutants can be reasoned with or avoided easily enough, but the ones at Black Mountain are viciously aggressive and very well-armed."

The Courier crossed his arms, "In effect, the 95 is the only reasonably safe passage into the southern parts of the Wasteland. The western passage is rugged and is filled with Deathclaws, Cazadores, and is in the middle of Fiend territory. The 95's worst problem are gangsters from the Vipers and others, along with the occasional skirmish between NCR and the Legion."

Louise sighed as she began to think, her mother's lessons in warfare instantly bubbled back up to the surface._ 'The west is difficult to traverse and filled with all types of hazardous wildlife, the center is a pincer move in the making, and the east is an active war zone.'_

"I guess we better head down the eastern path then."

* * *

**I-88 Trading Post**

**1530 Hours**

The group managed to leave Freeside without difficulty, this time with Cass staying behind at the Lucky 38 at the Courier's request. After leaving the slums behind, the Courier and his entourage stopped at the Gun Runners to trade.

Louise was mystified by the modified Protectron inside the booth, "Is that some sort of golem Sir Winfield?"

He recalled their previous discussion with House as he responded, "Similar idea, but they are built using machinery and can think independently. No magic is involved in their operation or construction, and countless robots remain functional even today, over two centuries after the bombs fell." He pointed to the Vendotron, "This robot sells merchandise for the Gun Runners, a big time weapons manufacturer from out West."

Louise watched in awe as the 'robot' counter-offered as the Courier began to barter for several boxes of ammunition and a few random objects. After a few minutes, the three began their hike towards the edge of New Vegas.

The openness instantly reminded her of the 'Fiends' that had shot and attempted to rape her the day before, and shuddered audibly. She shook off her concern as her arms became sore from the crutches she was using. Her groans of pain instantly caught Winfield's attention as he switched his hunting shotgun for his Plasma Defender and had her climb up onto his back. After a few minutes she had managed to find a comfortable position on the reinforced plating and began to take in the sights.

The first major difference between the city and the countryside was the total lack of activity. Even in Freeside, the streets were busy, on the open road however you could see signs of civilization, but little else. They once passed another of those two-headed cows being herded along by three armed men and women.

"Sir Winfield, what are those deformed cattle?"

"Those are Brahmin, the Wasteland's version of the Old World cattle. The two head's and color scheme came from the radiation that the bombs left behind. They're in massive herds out west, sometimes reaching into the thousands."

The group reached the 188 Trading Post and stopped for water at a bench. The Courier and noblewoman sat down at a picnic table to drink, with him giving her a bottle of purified water to drink.

"Is there a reason you are giving me your own water Sir Winfield?"

James nodded grimly, "The local water sources are highly contaminated, both with bacteria and radiation. You aren't acclimated to this place yet, so there's no telling what either would do to you."

Louise appeared horrified, "How could a nobleman such as yourself drink such filth?"

"I'm no nobleman Louise, but I'll let you in on the worst kept secret in the Wasteland. Everyone does what they have to in order to survive. The homeless and desperate in Freeside attack visitors so they can buy food, the Raiders, particularly the Fiends have been driven mad by the Wasteland and survive by feeding off everyone else, sometimes literally." Louise's horror never abated as he continued, "The Vegas families which rule the Strip were nothing but tribals a few decades ago. They get rich off of their dens of sin; gambling, drugs, booze and prostitution are all fair game."

The Courier turned to her and seemed to gaze through her very soul, "You will have to do things Louise. Terrible things to survive in the Wasteland. Killing, maiming, stealing to get what you need to survive. Maintaining your morals is nearly impossible, and I've done some bad things in the past. Before the next world claims you, you will have to do the same. Just remember one thing, no one is innocent in the Wasteland, not even children."

Louise's face instantly turned into one of sadness, "How do you keep on living like this Sir Winfield?"

He sighed as he broke eye contact with her, "You live day by day, hour by hour, and even second by second. One day death claims us all, it may not be today, it may not even be tomorrow, but it will happen eventually. So live every day here like it's your last, and die with no regrets."

Louise remained silent as she climbed back onto the Courier's back as the trio made their way to Nipton.

* * *

**A/N: This ends the pilot chapter of the Zero in Vegas, and I now open the review floodgates and await your input. Ask your questions, but I do ask that you please limit your spoilers for each chapter in the review. That being said, thanks for reading!**

**"I think we'll be seeing each other soon enough."**


	2. Innocent No More

**A/N: Hello returning readers! The second chapter of the Zero in New Vegas is here and will be revealed following these reviews!**

**FireM78910: Her weapons load-out will be fairly standard, no frills, just killing machines. If it was a male character with a stronger physical build, I would consider putting the Gauss as a primary weapon. With Louise's petite frame however, larger weapons, either in weight or size, restrict the weapons available.**

**Minitune: Admittedly, describing Louise in a brand new world is difficult for me. I was not sure how her behavior would be accepted by my readers, so this has put me in the right direction. Thank you!**

**Ilat-2: My first playthrough was with House, but after coming to the realization I would have to destroy them, I simply changed sides and went with the NCR. Later playthroughs had me working exclusively with Yes Man. I want to craft my own Mojave, my way.**

**White-tiger-angel: This is Pre-Hoover. It isn't all that far along in the actual story yet, but how far I'll be describing over the next few chapters. The Courier's decision has yet to be made however, and it will certainly be influenced by Louise.**

**ww1990ww: Not everyone has been recruited yet. Only Cass and Veronica are currently in play. Others will eventually appear, but not as of this chapter.**

**Mastermind (Guest): Again, this is a recurring problem of mine. I haven't been able to fix this element of my writing as of yet, but hopefully once I do I can rewrite certain sections to address this.**

**Spanish Guest: Thank you?**

**BieberLover69 (Guest): You won't be disappointed.**

**Trickster3696 (Guest): Doesn't happen nearly enough IMO. And I will take as long as it takes to ensure these chapters are written as well as possible and ensure proper grammar, syntax, and tense. So hush =P**

**Celestia's Paladin: Good to hear from you! Louise's behavioral change is necessary in my opinion. If she was as snotty as she was in canon she'd be shot and left in a ditch somewhere. I appreciate your opinion on my Courier!**

**Our previous episode left our heroes on the road to Novac, watch as they continue their quest to the Leveler's House in Goodsprings!**

* * *

**Novac**

**1850 Hours**

The trio of Veronica, the Courier, and Louise stumbled into the Pre-War truck stop as the sun began to fall beneath the Colorado River. Louise, now on her crutches for the final leg of the journey quickly pulled herself into the motel's lobby and fell upon the ruined couch inside.

An older, unfamiliar woman's voice caught her attention, "Are you looking for a room young miss?"

Louise instantly sat up and nodded, "Of course commoner."

The aged woman was surprised by her off-the-cuff comment but brushed it off. "That will be twenty caps for a single room."

She instinctively reached for her coin purse, only to realize she didn't have it, or any caps to pay with. Before she could respond however, Winfield came in and handed the twenty caps to the innkeeper.

"One room for all three of us please."

"Of course Mr. Winfield, here is your room key. Have a good night's sleep!"

With the Courier's help, Louise got back onto her crutches and carefully followed the Paladin and Scribe into their first floor room.

Upon walking in, the smell of dust and mold immediately caused the pinkette to sneeze horribly and without pause. Chuckles from her other companions were met with a scowl, "This isn't fun –ACHOO- I hope you all burn –ACHOO-."

"All of these old worn-down buildings have huge dust and mold problems, people have to adapt to them. You will have to do the same if you want to sleep indoors, especially since most of the only safe sleeping places are in these old buildings."

"The Lucky 38 wasn't like this at all!"

"That building has been isolated and constantly maintained for decades now. These places are worn down because they are used so much and hardly ever get repaired. The Leveler's House used to have the same problem until I tore most of the interior out and fashioned a new one. Its still a bit musty, but you get used to it."

Louise would have continued to argue had sleep not sounded so wonderful to her, moments after hitting the mattress she fell asleep.

* * *

The Courier watched the little spitfire sleep for a few moments before he noticed the smirk on Veronica's face, "I didn't know you were into watching young girls sleep James. You learn new things every day-."

The sound of a pillow smacking her in the face stopped all debate as Winfield atomized his power armor and slept in his leather duster, "Goodnight Veronica."

* * *

**Novac – Motel**

**0900 Hours**

Louise felt her eyes start to flutter on their own as the sun began to peek through the boarded-up window.

"Five more minutes!" She immediately sneezed, and the chance of sleeping longer went out the window. She grumbled, sat up to stretch and felt every bit of soreness from the day before come back as her back popped in several places. A yawn came as she gently stood up and went to the sink, a blank expression replaced by a scowl as she found the mirror smashed and the sink split down the middle.

_'Still in this nightmare.'_

She reluctantly sat on the commode and relieved herself, the soreness preventing her from hovering over the worn, ancient seat. As she finished she picked up her makeshift underwear, no more then a pair of tight gray athletic shorts, she stumbled carefully back in the room. Upon seeing her crutches she gasped, and immediately took the weight off of her bad leg. She rolled her dress up and saw the wound had completely healed, though a nasty scar was left behind to remind her of her first day in the Wasteland.

Carefully, she walked around the motel room, balancing her weight across both legs and pivoting to predict any unseen problems. She remembered her mother's lessons about both physical fitness and ensuring her body was in good health at all times. A mage's best defense was magic, but in a world where magic was a myth and muskets ruled the Wasteland, being able to move quickly and smoothly took precedence.

Louise grabbed her crutches and held each one in a different arm and carefully walked outside. The hot Mojave sun began to sting as she averted her eyes from the blasting ball of heat in the sky. As her eyes adjusted she saw Veronica performing maintenance on her favorite 'thing' while sitting down on an old bench. She carefully walked over and sat down next to her, "Good morning Veronica."

"Ah, good morning Louise! You're walking without crutches already?"

The pinkette nodded, "I didn't think I'd heal that quickly, only magic could heal that fast, although it wouldn't leave the scar that remains."

"Let me see your leg Louise," the pinkette lifted her right leg up and found her sundress being lifted up. A massive blush appeared as the Scribe ran her hands down both sides of her thigh to palpate for any odd lumps or bulges. Such signs could be the early onset of an infection, one that if left untreated could cost her the leg, and in most cases in the Wasteland, her life as well.

"Your leg is healing very well, but full strength is going to take some time to regain. So I'd still use the crutches for long distances like we'll be traveling today."

Louise was thankful, noble pride non-withstanding, "Thanks Veronica, for everything once again."

She ruffled her pink hair, "Not a problem kiddo, I'm going to go look for James, you can just stay here."

Her mother's lessons immediately resurfaced in her mind, "I'll come with Veronica, I need to keep working this leg so it can heal properly."

The Scribe nodded and both women began to search the town for signs of their male compatriot.

* * *

**Dino-Dee-Lite Gift Shop**

The trader smiled, "That will be 500 caps Mr. Winfield."

"350 Caps for all of it Briscoe! Not a cap more!"

Both the shopkeeper and the Courier had both haggled each other for the better part of the morning over three boxes of bulk Energy Cells and one box of bulk Microfusion Cells.

"450!"

"375!"

The shopkeeper was getting desperate, '_The Bulk boxes never get picked up, just like those damned toy dinosaurs!_' "400!"

"Deal!" The Courier shot out his hand and the Shopkeeper shook it in an instant. He counted out the caps and handed them over as he took all four boxes and atomized them right into his Pip-Boy, "Pleasure doing business with you Cliff!"

A false smile came across his face as the Courier left, "Why doesn't anyone buy these things?!"

* * *

The Courier stepped out of the dinosaur and began walking towards the room. As he opened it, he found no one inside, Louise's crutches and Veronica's duffel were nowhere in sight either.

"Hey James!"

The man turned around as Veronica and Louise came into view, the latter of which was off her crutches and carrying them wrapped in one arm, "You're walking on your own already?"

The pinkette nodded, a slight grimace came from the earlier gunshot wound, "I'm still sore, but I'm okay. Are you ready to go?"

James nodded, "We'll be heading out, I just picked up some training rounds for you once we get to Goodsprings. I checked my inventory before I left there and I have a plasma rifle and a laser pistol for you to try out once we get in. I do need to warn you about something before we head out from here."

Veronica figured it out in an instant, "Nipton."

Louise became curious at Veronica's reaction, "Nipton?"

The Courier nodded, "Nipton was a den of sin, filled with raiders, criminals and outlaws. At least until four weeks ago." He paused before he continued, "The Legion attacked the town after its mayor sold out his entire population to them. The entire town was razed and sacked, nearly all of the population was enslaved or executed outright. The unlucky one, being the mayor was burned at the stake for his betrayal and countless others were crucified."

Louise paled immediately at the mention of crucifixion, "How could someone do that?! The Church outlawed crucifixion in its entirety millennia ago, its not even used by the Inquisition as an execution technique!"

The pinkette began to hyperventilate as Winfield put a hand on her shoulder, "Louise, everyone hates or fears the Legion, and with good reason. Understanding why they do things will only distract you out here. Now, let's keep moving."

The group moved in nervous silence as they traversed the small side trail west of Novac, the intent being to avoid the radioactive 'hot-zone' at Camp Searchlight.

The sun continued to beat down, causing waves of heat to pour off of the old, cracked pavement as the trio began to sweat. Louise suffered the most, not even the harshest Tristainian summers could come close to the scorching heat of the Mojave. There was no environment like the Mojave in Halkeginia, at least within human controlled lands.

While Tristain had hot summers due to humidity, the Mojave had raw, unfiltered heat bearing down on her. It sapped her very strength as she struggled to take step after step. While she continued to sweat and drink clean water, her clothes never became wet, the salty mixture excreted by her skin pores evaporating on contact.

After passing the Ranger Station the Courier signaled the group to a stop. He drew his Gobi Campaign Rifle, recently outfitted with lightweight parts, an extended five round magazine, and a high grade silencer into his shoulder.

Louise was confused, "Why did we stop?"

Veronica answered as the Courier scanned the canyon walls ahead, "Since the Long 15 is unusable, this pass is the only remotely safe passage from the NCR into New Vegas."

"A choke point. A place for a perfect ambush."

Veronica raised an eyebrow, "You're a quick study Louise."

The pinkette nodded, "I come from an accomplished military family, my parents were combat veterans and heroes in their own right, my mother especially. She didn't become the Heavy Wind, Tristain's most powerful mage in millennia without significant effort. For me, military doctrine was taught alongside reading and writing. Look at the high canyon walls, it makes maneuvering inside nearly impossible, and no place to seek shelter from enemy magic fire or artillery barrages."

Just as Veronica responded, the suppressed rifle fired once, its muffled cough barely louder then a book being dropped. Before the casing fell to the ground, a second shot was fired, Winfield readjusted, and fired again, and once more before standing back up and motioned for them to continue.

A few minutes later the group walked into the pass. After being told to stay still, both Veronica and the Courier began to check the passage for mines. Louise looked over to the side of the pass and saw a collapsed bandit missing most of his skull and a few pieces of his spine scattered about.

She managed to hold her bile down as she slowly approached the mutilated woman and picked up the weapon that laid near her. Louise was fascinated by it, it was a mostly wood and metal weapon with a large barrel, and some sort of pumping mechanism. She worked the pump-action grenade launcher and was surprised when a conical shaped object was ejected from the weapon.

A minute later, both Wastelanders came back up to see Louise playing with the grenade launcher.

Veronica chuckled, "That isn't a toy Louise!"

A haughty voice shot back, "I'm sorry? I got curious!"

"A powerful weapon designed to kill groups of enemies, its called a grenade launcher. That fires 40mm grenades of various types, those grenades are the cylinders you ejected from the weapon."

She tossed the weapon away from her without a care in the world and paled as she stared at the projectiles by her feet, "I-is it going to blow up?"

Veronica couldn't help but snicker as the Courier walked over and froze as he was no more then three meters away. "Louise, I need you to remain perfectly still, okay?"

Veronica stopped her laughter immediately and zeroed in on what had caught the Courier's eye: A bottle-cap mine.

* * *

Paladain James Winfield was a historically calm man under pressure, but the one thing he never liked dealing with was mines. The damn things were just as likely to explode in your hands as you were to step on them yourself. Hell, the reason he gave up on ever using the devices was an accident early on with the Powder Gangers and a makeshift Powder Charge. The damned hunk of junk nearly took his left eye when he wasn't watching where he was going.

_'But why hasn't the mine triggered yet? She's within the proximity sensor's range, and very easily inside the kill zone. How?_' He snapped his fingers, _'She could have perks too!'_

Louise was still frozen in place, although she had begun to shake from the muscle tension as the Courier cleared his throat, 'I hope I'm not going to regret this later.' "Louise, I want you to carefully take two small steps back as slowly as possible, okay?" The pinkette obeyed, her movements tense , "I want you to kneel down and go prone on the ground." She looked at him in confusion then reluctantly followed the command, as soon as she was on the ground she noticed the mine.

"What I want you to do, is slowly, carefully crawl up to the device in the road." Louise did so, and nothing happened, much to the Courier's relief. "Now reach out and flip the switch that's on the edge of the box in the opposite direction."

After she carefully examined the device, she found the switch and flipped it. The red light that was lit turned off entirely.

"The light went out, is that a good thing?"

Both Wastelanders nervously nodded, "You just disarmed your first land mine Louise, congratulations. You seem to have a talent for it."

"Land mine?"

"Think of it like a bomb that one leaves on the ground, when it comes into contact with a hostile, or someone other then the one who activated it, the mine will make beeping sounds, then detonate. You don't seem to trigger the mine's sensor though, which is surprising, you must have Light Step."

Louise seemed confused but remained fearful, more in favor of quickly walking away then pick up the grenade launcher (and its ejected grenades). As she gave the previously armed mine a wide berth; Veronica crossed her arms as she scowled at the Courier, "What the hell was that for James? Are you trying to get her killed?"

"I had to test a theory, and nearly all of a bottlecap's mine blast and shrapnel are launched upwards, not horizontally. It was proven though, Louise has Perks of some kind."

The Scribe rolled her eyes, grabbed the mine and walked off with Louise.

The Courier kicked himself for that for hours to come.

* * *

**Nipton **

**1300 Hours**

Louise and Veronica approached the sacked town, the smell of rot and decay hung in the air as Louise gagged. The Courier remained behind the girls and provided overwatch.

The burn piles, filled with garbage, food, and human remains still burned. The crosses bearing several men, mostly Powder Gangers were covered by blood and their decaying remains. Each corpse's skull was cracked, a previously delivered gunshot bringing a swift death to each soul.

In between coughs and gags, the pinkette managed to give her own commentary, "And this is why the Church outlawed crucifixion. The suffering was so great that it was considered too heinous, even for the most vile offenders and heretics."

"Not to mention that some do survive the process and can be rescued, provided it is done so quickly," Veronica added.

Louise nodded grimly, her sense of smell completely overpowered by the stench of death in the air. "There was that concern as well."

The group quickly passed through the ruined town, no one stayed long in Nipton, not anymore.

* * *

**Goodsprings – Prospector Saloon**

**2045 Hours**

The three travelers had made their way into the former ghost town as the sun set and walked into the town's sole attraction.

"Hey! Winfield!" The Courier turned to the voice to see Sunny give a wave from the billiards, with trusty Cheyenne by her side.

The entire bar turned to the entrance and responded with an echo, "Hey Winfield!"

Trudy smacked her hand across the bar, "Come on bar flies, make room for three more!"

Cheers erupted as a few moved and gave the three the center seats.

"A round for them all!"

The Courier turned to Veronica who sighed and shook her head, "We're gonna have a long night."

* * *

**Goodsprings – Leveler's House**

**1100 Hours**

The Courier woke up with a splitting headache as his hangover came in full force.

'_I drank too much, again.'_

He turned around and shielded his eyes from what appeared to be a miniature sun in his bedroom to find everyone and the House's keeper, Sophia, unconscious somewhere in the small bedroom. Louise was out cold in a ball made of blankets near the foot of the bed, Veronica slept in the Create-It Terminal's trunk in a rather uncomfortable position and Sophia was unconscious on the chair next to the bed.

"Urgggg," the sound of Louise waking up was followed by her awareness of her sorority party class headache. "Guhh, feels like I was kicked by Mr. Fluffles."

A wrench sailed through the air, narrowly passed Louise's figure and bounced off of the Courier's hardened skull. The man gripped his skull in agony as the tool clattered to the floor.

A moan preceeded Veronica speaking up, "Shut up Louise, my head is killing me-."

"You think your head hurts?!" Gasps of pain filled the room as Sophia shook her head in disbelief.

"Enough, everyone get up and I'll get three doses of hangover cure ready for you all." The blonde walked out of the room and the sound of the stove heating up filled the room.

* * *

**Halkeginia - Tristain Academy of Magic**

**That Same Time**

The Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual was an ancient, storied tradition dating back to the age of the Founder Brimir Himself. An impressive six millenia long tradition was carried on by prospective noble students once they started their second year of studies. This year was far different then most however, for tragedy had struck a young noblewoman.

Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere was dead, or at least presumed to be.

Professor Jean Colbert was no stranger to death. The square class fire mage, combat veteran, and former wetwork operative was surrounded by it for well over a decade. He had taken up educating young nobles on how to properly apply their magic and power to the world around them in order to redeem himself of his sins.

The day before however, those sins came back in a massive explosion.

The political fallout was likely to be of tremendous significance. While nobles died relatively often, the Vallieres were an extremely well placed noble house, second only to the Crown itself. Being the daughter of Tristain's greatest war hero in a thousand years and cousins' with it's Crown Princess made her death that much more important. The bald professor didn't envy Headmaster Osmond in the least, having to write condolence letters to both Crown Princess Henrietta de Tristain and Karin Desiree _'The Heavy Wind_' Valliere was no easy matter.

The loss of income from the Vallieres would hamper the school's future endeavors and budget, though to what end remained to be seen. The Royal Family investigating what had gone wrong, in addition to attention from Romalia would likely end Osmond's decades-long tenure at the Academy.

There had to be a scapegoat for all the others to blame after all, and an old man was the easiest target of them all.

Regardless, Colbert continued to interview students and staff who had been present or watching the Summoning Ritual from a distance. Many of the reports stated what he himself had seen: Louise had performed the summoning spell and had detonated Vestry Court in its entirety. No remains of any kind were found around the courtyard, or even outside the Academy gates.

A strange energy was left in the crater that had been caused. Coincidentally, the commoners who had been tasked to fill it in had become deathly ill with respiratory distress. Other symptoms such as hair loss and delirium continued to outpace any healing attempts performed by the staff or those nobles who had volunteered to help.

A few witnesses reported something different, something far more unexplainable. Two maids and one student, Tabitha had seen Louise perform the spell, detonate, and be _sucked_ _into_ the blast itself. That single detail should've been impossible in itself, an explosion sends everything outwards; what should've happened was an implosion that sucked everything in. The entire situation was a complete contradiction of the known laws of nature and reality.

And it made Jean Colbert worry.

* * *

**Goodsprings - Leveler's House**

**One Hour Later**

Sophia's magic hangover 'cure' was little more then a shot of vodka, two shots of absinthe, a third of a dose of Med-X, and finely ground pinto beans. Its horrid taste was considered (in Wasteland terms) 'less than pleasant' as Louise was vomiting out the back door while Veronica smacked her head into the wall, desperate to distract herself from the wretched concoction.

The Courier was used to it, the Perk 'Old World Gourmet' was beyond useful for someone who often had to scavenge food that was _far_ past its expiration date. The others were not so fortunate, but as predicted, the 'cure' got rid of their hangovers in record time. The three went outside for fresh air and to go to the makeshift firing range in the back.

He cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention, "Alright Louise, we'll start with the basics of armor and energy weapons with these." Winfield placed a set of Leveler-issued Leather Armor and a stock Laser Pistol. "This is the most common type of energy weapon in the Mojave today. The Laser Pistol fires a single pulse of infared/ultraviolet energy at the speed of light." A look of confusion came across her face, as he shook his head, "The pulse effectively hits instantly. It can cause severe burns and is capable of literally disintegrating a target into ash." Louise's mouth formed an O as she nodded dumbly.

A few typed commands onto the mounted terminal brought up a holographic target dummy, in the shape of a coyote. "Observe." The Courier opened V.A.T.S. targeting and fired a single shot from the weapon. The laser instantly burned a whole through the canine's chest cavity, the animal dropped nearly instantly.

* * *

The actual beam and sudden death/disintegration of the coyote caused the noblewoman to jump, the weapon's report echoed softly into the Wasteland. It seemed to be softer then the muskets that she often heard the Duchy's guards training with.

And it was far more powerful.

"Can I try it Sir Winfield?"

The Paladin nodded and carefully handed the pistol to the pinkette, which felt surprisingly light in her hands. She noticed her arms were shaking as she pointed it at the area where another hologram appeared, and pulled the trigger. A single pulse fired, as the weapon gently recoiled back. The pulse, while bright was not blinding to Louise who gasped as a cauterized leg rolled away from the animal.

Veronica chimed in, "Hmm, not a bad shot for your first time. Especially considering you weren't even looking down the sights."

Louise looked at the top of the weapon and inadvertently pointed the pistol at the Courier, who jumped back, "Careful with that thing Louise! That gun is not something you just wave around!"

She dropped it and the weapon discharged into the sandbags, which caused her to jump even higher then before and fell straight onto her ass.

The Courier facepalmed, "Go get changed in the house Louise, I don't want you taking off a leg by accident, and for God's sake hold onto that gun!"

* * *

After she managed to get the armor suit on, Louise walked back outside, the suit of armor enhancing her figure. The leather legs clung to her body, much like her stockings did when she attended the Academy; the shoulder pauldrons were the most difficult part to adjust to. Their weight, while minimal, was both uncomfortable and restricted her basic movements.

"How does it feel Louise?"

The pinkette looked back to Veronica who apparently found the sight of her being uncomfortable rather entertaining, based on the smirk across the brunette's face.

"It bites into my legs, my shoulders and I can't turn my head more then half the usual distance."

A male voice entered in, "You'll get used to it eventually Louise, that suit is brand-new, so it'll take time to adjust both the suit and yourself. Now that you're in armor, we're going to try using the laser pistol again, but this time on a live target."

Winfield began to input commands and brought another holographic coyote into reality, "You can fire whenever you're ready Louise."

The pinkette carefully looked down the sights, and once they were both aligned with each other as well as the target, she fired. The single pulse was slightly to the right of where she aimed and took off the canine's head, the spinal colunmn instantly cauterized. A tear went down her face as she was reminded of a family member with a love for animals.

_'I'm sorry little dog. I know Cattleya would've loved to have you in her menagerie back home.'_

The thought of home caused the noblewoman to leave reality as warm memories of Cattleya and cold ones of the rest of her family filled her mind.

A hand on her shoulder shook her out of her funk, "Are you okay Louise?"

She quickly nodded, "Yes, I am. Thank you Sir Winfield. Is there a plas-ma," Louise struggled with the pronounciation, "A plasma weapon for me to try as well?"

Winfield smiled, "Yes, right here."

* * *

The Courier atomized a stock plasma rifle and handed it to her, "This is a plasma rifle, it hurls bolts of green colored energy at its target. The bolt moves much slower then a laser, and even slower then some bullets. So you will likely use plasma at short to medium range, and a laser weapon for long range. Go on, feel the weight."

The pinkette held the unloaded rifle with caution as it seemingly fit perfectly into her frame. She turned to him, "It feels right to me somehow, why is that Sir Winfield?"

He couldn't help but grin slightly, "It seems you found your weapon of choice Louise. Now, there are two variants of the plasma rifle you need to be aware of. The first, the standard semi-automatic plasma rifle is the one you are holding right now. The second, is a modified version that shoots three bolts at a time which spread apart over a distance. The weapon also burns through ammunition quickly; the Microfusion Cells need to be rotated every 12 shots for the former, every 15 for the latter."

The Courier continued, "Now there are two types of Plasma pistols available, there is the standard Pistol, which is more limited but requires less training; or the Plasma Defender, a type of heavy Plasma Pistol. The Defender has double the standard pistol's ammunition capacity, is far more durable, but is only around 20% more powerful per shot. In any case, I want you to practice with that rifle right now Louise, get to it!"

* * *

After several hours of practice, and nearly 400 energy cells and Microfusion cells later, Louise called it a night. Sweat covered her skin and as the sun set, she immediately felt clammy as the salty concoction began to work too well. She walked inside and set her final weapons on the table, a freshly modified Laser Pistol, with a Recycler, proper iron-sights, and a beam-splitter to amplify damage; her main weapon would be her newfound Plasma Rifle, still unmodified as the Courier had not picked up any mods for the weapon yet.

"Now then, when you go anywhere, from your bedside to the bathroom you will carry your weapons, and enough Cells for four proper reloads. I have standard Cells to replace the bulk ones you were using today."

Louise was aware that cannons used various types of ammunition from her training as a noblewoman, but the thought of an energy weapon, or a musket using different types of ammunition was confusing for her. "I didn't know muskets and energy weapons used different types of ammunition."

"Absolutely, it's far more prevalent for guns, even shotguns have over half a dozen different rounds available for them. It's why I use them far more then other guns out there, or energy weapons for that matter. Just about every situation can be covered with shotgun shells, but they kick hard and only work for short to medium range."

Louise nodded and went into the bedroom to change out of her armor, with Sophia's help. After washing her face in a makeshift wash basin, she donned the summer dress from her meeting with Mr. House then walked back into the foyer and took a seat as the Courier began to speak.

"We will be heading to the Ivanpah Dry Lake just south of Primm tomorrow morning. I want to get an early start and make it to Primm before mid-day, there is a robot I'd like to take a crack at.

Louise raised her hand and started to speak, "A robot? Like that merchant golem at the gun store?"

A quick shake of his head answered, "No, it's a type of robot I haven't seen before in the Wasteland, or back in California. It's circular with long tendrils sticking out, I reckon it's worth checking out."

After a few additional questions were asked, the group settled into bed, with Veronica and Louise taking the bed, the Courier taking a cot as Sophia took up watch.

* * *

**Goodsprings**

**0745 Hours**

Louise awoke to the voice of Sinatra as she rubbed the gunk out of her eyes that accumulated overnight.

She was in a makeshift nightgown that was previously designed as sexy lingerie before the Great War, and remade into something more practical. It preserved her modesty as a noblewoman and as a maiden, the latter of which was barely intact due to the Fiends' attack on her.

She was surprised at how quickly she had moved on from that experience, rape was rarely talked about in noble circles, but when it was discussed, it was one filled with curses. Most cool-headed noblemen who took mistresses took the effort to make such a 'relationship' consensual, either through financial or occupational benefit. Occasionally, said mistresses would volunteer themselves on their own volition, with no pre-conditions.

Her father on the other hand never had a mistress, while Louise knew he was a man and looked elsewhere on occasion, she knew he would face considerable retribution from her mother. Unlike most noble marriages however, theirs was one of love, meaning entanglements with others was not likely in the first place.

Count Mott was one of the exceptions that was well-known in noble circles as a lecher without parity. Not even the Gramonts, with all of their womanizing were as aggressive and vile as the current Count of Mott was. He was known for buying maids from the Magic Academy itself and made them his own personal objects. Said 'objects' vanished without a trace, never to be seen again. None of it was discussed publicly of course, given Count Mott's status as Royal Messenger.

Louise counted her blessings with a prayer to Brimir and immediately got changed after verifying there were no men in the room. The armor was much easier to put on then the day before, and had dried overnight. Less chafing made it even more comfortable, the possibility of remaining in the armor all the time was not as unlikely as she thought it would've been.

The smells of breakfast greeted her as she holstered her pistol onto her right thigh, and slung the Plasma Rifle over her shoulder and walked out of the bedroom.

* * *

The sound of a door opening caught the attention of all present as Louise walked in yawning.

Veronica was the first to respond, "Hey, sleeping beauty is awake!"

Sophia and the Courier snickered as the pinkette crossed her arms, "I have a plas-ma rifle."

Veronica raised an eyebrow, "Still can't say plasma huh? Here, let me instruct you-."

Louise nearly grabbed her pistol before freezing in place. The house tender gave the young girl a withering glare, "No firing in the house you two. This house smells bad enough without the fine stench of burning upholstery."

The Courier nodded, "Enough you two, sit down to eat, we don't have the time to just waste away, we have a full day ahead of us!"

* * *

**Goodsprings/Long 15 Interchange**

**0900 Hours**

The Wastelanders and the noblewoman walked onto the former highway and began their trek to Primm, only to be met by shouts and the hiss of dynamite.

"Powder Gangers! Get to cover Louise!"

Louise, who normally would've stood in the open to fight, instinctively sprinted to a divider that remained in position and ducked behind it. The other two joined her as the group –minus Louise- began to exchange fire with the convicts.

She was terrified, her first major gunfight and she was freezing up. A smack on the shoulder caught her attention as Veronica smiled and gave a thumbs up. She drew her Laser Rifle and began to fire at the targets, only to be forced back down as dynamite landed on the opposite side of the divider.

Louise had a moment to be confused before the blast shook her brain inside her skull as her ears rang from the concussive wave. She shook her head and her hearing came back, '_Honor must be maintained!'_

In a fluid motion, practiced the day before with Winfield's direction, she drew the Plasma Rifle into her arms, raised the weapon slightly and inserted a standard Microfusion Cell into the underslung sling.

She flipped the cell into position and the weapon glowed green, "Fully Charged!" She poked her head and the rifle out of the side of the divider. A convict saw her, aimed his shotgun at her and pulled the trigger, all 5 pieces of buckshot hit the divider as he started to reload. Louise instantly realized who the greatest threat was and lined the half-naked man with the rifle's single iron-sight. The world seemed to slow down as she pulled the trigger.

When the trigger was pulled, an electrical signal was transmitted to the Microfusion Cell sling, which drew power into the weapon's firing chamber. The raw energy was converted into an uncontrolled plasma which was converted into it's signature green hue and then shaped into a single bolt. The bolt fired out at 550 feet per second and impacted the Powder Ganger just below his left clavicle, tearing out his shoulder, and crudely cutting his aorta open.

As time resumed its normal flow, she returned behind the divider and began to shake as the thought of her first kill began to filter through her psyche.

_'I just killed someone, murdered someone! I won't get to see heaven or Brimir in the next life or-.'_

"Not your day kid." Louise was thrown back into reality as a .357 revolver was pointed straight between her eyes.

Before he could pull the trigger, a deafening thunderclap was heard as the thug's head, and nearly both arms were sheared off of his body. She scurried to the side, barely avoiding the headless, and shoulder-less body from falling on top of her.

She returned the rifle to her shoulder and peeked out over cover. As soon as she did the sight of another thug, armed with a stick of dynamite cued her response. A single trigger pull sent another bolt into the man's throat, which neatly severed the spinal column and sent his head – and the lit dynamite in his hand – to the ground.

The stick exploded and blew the next thug's left side into chunks. The man managed to weakly cryout before he fell still. A roar from behind caused her to duck as a tire iron sailed by her head, she turned and saw the man, barely fifteen feet away draw a switchblade and charge. As she held her rifle in her left hand, she drew her pistol with her right and continuously fired pulse after pulse into the man's body.

After the weapon was drained, the man fell back to the ground, dead. Reality began to set in as the adrenaline quickly left her system. The sound of gunfire quickly dropped off as Louise slid to the ground and her stomach decided to relieve itself of its contents.

* * *

As the Courier finished off the last Powder Ganger with a Magnum-charged 4/0 Buck he holstered his weapon and ran to the sound of vomiting and weeping. He ran over and saw Louise lying back against the divider with her rifle and pistol beside her.

He saw the multiple laser wounds the thug in front of her had suffered, and the two others who had been gutted by the Plasma Rifle.

Veronica vocalized what Winfield was thinking, "That's damn good shooting for her first real fight."

The Courier ran up to Louise and hugged the petite girl. Said girl glomped him instantly and snuggled up to his T-51 bulk in an instant. Her weeping slowed to sniffles as she continued to cry in his arms.

The Scribe couldn't help but smile softly, "I take it our little excursion is going to be pushed back?"

Winfield rolled his eyes and began to short trip back to Goodsprings, with a young woman from a foreign land in his arms.

* * *

**A/N: So ends the second chapter of our adventure! Louise takes a life (or three of them in this case) for the first time, the response itself is fairly typical I believe, for anyone. I wanted to make sure I kept the dark, bleakness of Fallout in play while humanity still exists in (almost) everyone.**

**That being said, I am on a streak with this story so expect additional content soon! Assault on Albion will continue to receive updates as I put out the chapters. The plot will be thickening for both stories soon enough.**

**Thanks again everyone!**


	3. Creepy Crawly Things

A/N: The third installment of the Zero in the Mojave is coming! Followed by these mandatory review answers!

TrueFortune: Necessity dictates us all, doesn't it? And thank you =)

Kname: I don't intend to make too many references beyond this and a few other occasions. If people ask for a list for her in the future I'll write one up, but otherwise this won't happen often anymore. I've gone back and removed the first chapters and will trim chapter two as well.

A word for all of my reviewers who have asked me to ditch game mechanics in favor of immersion. I have agreed to your request and as such, have rewritten both previous chapters and my work that had been completed on this one. Skill and SPECIAL checks have been erased in their entirety and any 'cheats' will be modified to fit the style of regular play.

I thought you all might approve of that. As stated before, I will likely write Louise's 'perks' out for those who both want it for themselves or for those who don't catch my references. SPECIAL will also be written in due time, and I ask for folks to put their two cents in regarding her stats. Thankies!

Now then! Back to our heroes in Goodsprings!

* * *

**Goodsprings – Leveler's House**

The Courier gingerly laid the pink-haired girl into bed as Veronica quickly shed her armor and snuggled up with Louise. He was a strong figure, but when it came to women he was well known back home for having a poor touch.

He walked out and closed the door. He took a seat in front of the reloading bench and went to work replacing the shells spent in the gunfight.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention, "Is Louise okay James?"

Winfield turned to Sophia who pulled up a second chair as he responded, "I certainly hope so, she took out three Powder Gangers by herself. My first kill was just that, a kill. Not a trio of half-naked cons, but a burglar in my family's home. I was fairly normal in that regard, but this…"

As his voice cut out he received a light shove from Sophia, "You did everything you could James, no one is blaming you for what happened. The Gangers have gotten more desperate and aggressive lately, Cobb has been harassing Trudy again, and word is the NCR is taking notice."

"Do you think they'll try to retake the prison?"

"I think it's not a matter of if, but when James. Crimson Caravan convoys keep getting ambushed by Primm, and the same town has exchanged fire with the prison's perimeter guards. People are getting riled up, but a lot of the Gangers have been showing up farther north as well."

Winfield's eyes narrowed, a previously seen map returned to his mind, "How far north Sophia?"

"Past Quarry Junction and Sloan, but still south of Fiend territory and east of Great Khan land."

His mind instantly found a conclusion as he stood up and walked over to the map, "They must have found some sort of shelter, a location large enough to fit anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred people. There has to be something around," he pointed to a pass just east of Bonnie Springs. "Here."

Sophia scoffed, "In that area James? The only safe place would be a Vault-."

The two looked to one another as their eyes widened in unison.

"This is a very serious problem Sophia, I need to head up to McCarran and warn Colonel Hsu." Her look of confusion made him continue, "Even if they take the prison, the rest of the Gangers will take refuge in the Vault. It likely has clean water, a considerable stockpile of food, and makes for a nearly impenetrable fortress. With the Legion keeping the Rangers busy, the NCR won't be able to stop them from raiding most of South Vegas. McCarran would be within walking range, and if a sapper with enough C4 got close enough to the walls-."

Sophia finished, "They could shatter the defenses of NCR's main military installation in the Mojave. You're going to go alone James?"

The Courier nodded grimly, "It needs to be done, and done right now. Is the teleporter working?"

* * *

Louise meanwhile was still sniffling slightly as Veronica's strong, but caring embrace kept her comfortable.

"Louise, can we talk about what happened?"

A pause in the sniffles came as she turned around, "I-I-I guess so. What's there t-t-to talk about? I murdered not just one person, but three! Four if you count the guy who got blown up by that bomb!"

The brunette instantly understood the situation going in the noblewoman's mind, "What you did was _not_ murder Louise. Not at all. Those men, the Powder Gangers as they are called, are former prisoners who are raiding and pillaging whatever they come across. They would've held us all for ransom, likely raped us and the NCR would be forced to pay, given that James is one of their biggest local icons. You just might've saved all of us today, you did the right thing."

"But-."

A single flick to her right ear silenced the noblewoman, "You need to remember what James said, the Wasteland is a place where no one is innocent. You did what you had to in order to survive, don't place yourself in the same category as the common criminal. You are better than that, and you know it."

The pinkette continued to sniffle as the Scribe held her in her warm, and snuggly embrace.

* * *

The Courier switched armor for a Leveler's issued Leather Armor and tossed most of his inventory into the storage lockers. Only carrying an upgraded 'Sleepytyme' 10mm SMG, a Lever Action Shotgun, his trusty Fire Axe and a scoped Brush Gun, he was lighter than he had been in days. Along with the weapons, he had barely any ammunition, two 40 round magazines of jacketed hollow points, twenty five magnum-charged 3/0 buck, and no more than 40 hand-loaded cartridges for the Brush Gun.

"Here's the teleporter James. Just be careful with it, alright? It's still not perfected yet so use it sparingly."

Winfield took the grenade shaped object from Sophia, "Thank you Sophia, I'll just use it to get back then."

He walked out the door as Sophia watched him go.

"Be careful James."

* * *

**30 Minutes Later**

Louise and Veronica exited the bedroom to find Sophia quickly typing on the computer. The look of concern on her features was enough to make Veronica approach the woman and hold her shoulder. "Is everything alright Sophia?"

"James and I realized something while you two were elsewhere, the Powder Gangers have likely relocated to a far more hardened location instead of the prison facility."

"Where would that be?"

"He thinks it may be a Vault, we aren't sure which one, so we can't even begin to understand what we're dealing with."

Louise was the only one with no idea about what was being spoken about, "A Vault? Like a bank's vault?"

Veronica shook her head, "No, the Vaults of Pre-War America were places for people to ride out the Great War. They are heavily hardened against any kind of conventional and near nuclear hit. Even if hit directly, the Vault itself may remain intact. The front door of a vault is super dense and heavy, it would take days, if not weeks of cutting with an arc welder or plasma torch."

Louise had only been partially informed about the Great War, but knew enough to continue the conversation, "What about a 'nu-cular hit?"

Sophia shook her head at Veronica who still smirked slightly at Louise's pronunciation, "None of the warheads from the war exist anymore Louise. There are rumors some can be found intact on old military bases, but without launch codes the weapons couldn't be launched, let alone detonated."

Veronica finally cleared her throat and finished, "It would also devastate the region's wildlife and take out most of the Mojave. This location is smack right in the middle between Vegas and Goodsprings, we'd be irradiated at the least, if not obliterated in the blast. The only safe place would be another Vault, or Hidden Valley to the southeast."

"Are there other Vaults?"

"There's a few others, none of which are even remotely safe. Vault 34 is believed to be heavily radioactive and its outer perimeter filled with deadly wildlife. Vault 22 is overgrown with deadly vegetation, Vault 3 is known to be in Fiend hands, and Vault 21 has been mostly filled with concrete, making it useless for saving a populace."

Sophia continued on, "Not to mention no one enters the first two at all and makes it out alive."

Louise crossed her arms, "You could starve them out, it'd be a siege battle and drawn out, but you'd win in the end."

Veronica frowned, "Vaults were designed to keep their inhabitants safe for decades to centuries of confinement Louise. They have countless food stores and typically unlimited clean water sources, the attackers could run out of supplies before the defenders."

Sophia interjected before the impromptu lesson could continue, "Regardless of the Powder Ganger situation, we need to ensure you're alright Louise. Why don't we go see Doc Mitchell and ensure you don't have any injuries from the fight?"

* * *

**Halkeginia – Tristain Academy of Magic**

Karin Desiree '_The_ _Heavy_ _Wind'_ de La Valliere sat in Headmaster Osmond's office, deadly eyes glared into Osmond's. The pink-haired Duchess began to summarize what she had heard.

"Let me go over this one last time, when Louise performed the Familiar Summoning, she not only was destroyed herself, but managed to dig a massive crater into Vestry Court? With nothing but an explosion?"

Osmond nervously nodded, "Correct Duchess. There are conflicting accounts of how your daughter's disappearance however." A simple 'go on' gesture from Karin made him continue, "Three witnesses, two maids and a noble student from Gallia witnessed Louise be sucked into the explosion itself. I have their testimonies here for you."

With a flick of a wand, a set of three small scrolls levitated into the Duchess' hands as she carefully examined each one. After a minute she asked a question, "Were these reports taken separately?"

"They were, Professor Colbert is both a skilled instructor and investigator."

Karin nodded, she knew that Colbert was not only competent in his current profession from word of mouth and from Louise, but also well versed from his military experience. His previous endeavors involved substantial investigation and covert/direct action assignments. While most of Colbert's activities were highly classified, finding out for someone like her was relatively easy. Being one of the most powerful women in Tristain had its advantages after all.

"There have also been disturbing medical findings from the infirmary regarding the groundskeepers' ailments. An unknown magical energy pattern found in their lungs matches two other signatures in the Academy to-date."

"Which are?"

"The same found in the soil surrounding the blast site, and from the Staff of Destruction"

* * *

**Camp McCarran - Colonel Hsu's Office**

**1950 Hours**

"So what you're telling me Winfield is that the Powder Gangers have found a Vault to hide out in?"

The Courier nodded, "I have seen Pre-War maps that show that some sort of underground installation in the area they are located in currently. Even if the prison is raided, which I know will happen eventually, most of their force is long gone already. They will be close enough to start raiding south Vegas, and given that Pre-War surveys say the area itself is high in sulfur deposits-."

"They would have access to bomb-making materials on-site." The Chinese descended officer pinched the bridge of his nose, "Is any other avenue of attack available on the installation?"

"I can't be certain, not without going there myself. But the odds are substantially low, given how most Vaults, or underground facilities are constructed."

"We will have the Legion to the east, the Gangers to the south, Khans, and Fiends to the west, and House to the north. I don't think I need to spell out the trouble this could be for the NCR, do I Winfield?"

"No Colonel."

Hsu sighed, "Thank you for the update, I'll get Moore on the line and see if I can't figure something out on my end. I'm going to have to ask you find out more about Powder Ganger activity in the region, if they are hiding in a Vault, then we'll need to plan accordingly. Dismissed."

"Of course Colonel, thank you for your time."

After exchanging handshakes, the Courier left the room. After thirty seconds, a quiet voice came through his ear piece. Hsu spoke into a hidden microphone in his sleeve, "Dr. Hildern? Tell me you found something."

* * *

**Goodsprings – Doc Mitchell's House**

**That Same Time**

"Well, I'd say that about does it young lady, you can get back on your feet and back into your armor."

Louise quickly re-armored herself, blushing from the basic examination the doctor had given her. At Sophia and Veronica's urging, she had been examined for any potential injury, visible or otherwise, by the former Vault inhabitant. Admittedly it was with the condition of Veronica being present in the room, which only required a signature on something called a 'medical waiver' according to the doctor.

'Doc' Mitchell was a relatively calm, and professional old man from Vault 21, which was less c a hundred yards from the Lucky 38 itself. He was one of the few locals who remained in the Mojave after the Vault had been opened. Most of the others had gone their own way after House opened the Vault up to the public.

Louise felt a little sad at hearing about the story of Vault 21, but that sadness dissipated after comparing it to the other Vaults in the Mojave and elsewhere. Vault 21 was paradise compared to them. Virtually no violence of any kind ever occurred within its walls, and all conflicts were resolved with gambling activities.

"Well Miss Santangelo, Miss Louise is in good health and has no physical injuries to speak of. Other than the previous gunshot wound's healing muscle tissue that is. In any case, keep an eye on her leg and psychological health for the next few days. The first is never easy for anyone, especially for the younger folks."

With two handshakes, one from Louise and the other from the Scribe, the pair walked back out and managed to see the sun peeking out from the ridgeline to the west.

"The sunset is so beautiful here in the Mojave, nothing like Tristain at all."

Veronica smiled as she squeezed Louise's shoulder, "It's always something to marvel at. The Brotherhood's general membership never sees it at all though. It's . . . difficult to describe to those who have never seen the sun before."

The pinkette was curious, she had heard of the Brotherhood of Steel, but not much more than the name itself, "Tell me more Veronica."

"The Brotherhood of Steel was an organization born before the Great War, one dedicated to locking away the great technologies that at the time, we believed would destroy humanity forever. When the bombs fell in October 2077, our purpose became realized, and we started our crusade. It's been over two centuries since, and the Brotherhood holds on to its values, even to this day."

The sudden darkening of Veronica's tone caused Louise to step back, "I didn't mean anything by it-."

"I know Louise, relax will ya?" She paused for a moment before sighing, "The Brotherhood is dying, ever since we lost HELIOS One to the NCR we have locked ourselves away in Hidden Valley. There aren't enough recruits to replenish our numbers, and almost everyone down there is related to one another. We're going to have issues with inbreeding in the next generation without new blood, and we'll never have the troops to take back HELIOS One or any other locale."

Louise sighed, "My world has a similar problem, our nobles are thinning in number as our blood becomes diluted. Commoners rebel constantly against the throne while the royalty of each state vies for power of the others."

"It's not much different from Earth when you think of it like that. Admittedly you don't have massive mutants or radioactivity everywhere."

"No, we have mutants, orcs and ogres are a constant threat to towns, while dragons, manticores, and gryphons dominate the skies." The pinkette continued with a haughty tone, "Do you have anything like that Veronica?"

"I think you alone have brought enough crazy into the Wasteland to last us until the end of the century Louise."

* * *

As the pair walked in they saw Winfield as he materialized back into reality in the center of the house. The engineer in Veronica was impressed, and rather jealous. On the other hand, Louise's brain stopped functioning as she fainted to the ground.

* * *

Sophia started to ask questions, completely oblivious to Louise, "So, everything went well I presume?"

The Courier shrugged, "Hsu knows, and he also knows the situation has gone from bad to worse. He's going to liaison with Colonel Moore and most likely General Oliver at Hoover. No telling what will happen, so we'll have to wait and see."

Veronica walked back into the room after she set Louise on the bed, "I assume he wants to know more about the Vault in addition to the Powder Gangers activities?"

Sophia crossed her arms, "With all due respect Veronica, neither you nor Cass have the qualifications to be good infiltrators."

The Scribe was about to retort but a hand held by the Courier stopped her, "As much as you love punching people, you have a tendency to do so rather loudly. I think I have an idea for who we should recruit next, a stealth expert."

"Good luck finding one James, the only stealthy people out here are burglars and the occasional slaver."

He smirked, "Whoever said they were human?"

* * *

"_Not your day kid."_

Louise awoke from her nightmare at the mental sound of a gunshot. Sweat soaked and hyperventilating, she quickly stripped out of her nightwear and put on a 'clean' set of underwear and a tank top. She silently snuck out the back door after donning her Laser Pistol to her side.

Hand on the weapon, she carefully made her way to the outhouse. The pinkette relied on her hearing instead of her eyes on the moonless night. She froze at the sound of a howling coyote in the distance, and once again at the sound of automatic weapons fire.

After Louise ensured she was not being targeted, she slipped the shorts off of her bottom and sat on the dirty, but well maintained outhouse seat.

'_It beats that hole they called a toilet at the hotel.'_

A sudden buzzing sound made her freeze in place, not even urinating further. It was fast, rapidly moving, and very close. The sounds of the night had ceased as well, and it only served to unnerve the noblewoman.

A phrase her mother had taught her instantly came back in a flash, 'Just because the forest is silent, does not mean it is empty.' The singular sound made her worry even more, _'If the Wasteland could be silent, what kind of predator would cause it?'_

Louise recalled her lessons on the monsters of the Wasteland, along with her mother's teachings, and came to three potential conclusions: a swarm of Giant Mantises, several Radscorpions or-.

'_Cazador._' She gulped audibly as she slowly stood up and pulled her shorts up. After ensuring they were secure, she drew her pistol. After the Energy Cells were inserted, she silently locked the magazine shut.

Adrenaline coursed through her body as heart began to pound in her chest. The buzzing sound hovered no more than several yards away. She stepped on a loose pebble and an extremely unnoble thought came into her mind.

'_Maybe sound will distract it?'_

She picked up the small rock and looked out the left side of the outhouse and saw the target dummies they used. She prayed to Brimir for a safe, proper throw, then whipped it towards the dummies. The rock clanged loudly off of the tin cans, and caused the buzzing to rush away from her.

Louise immediately crouched low and quietly made her way to the back of the house. She went for the door and opened it, the centuries old hinges creaking with the volume to raise the dead. She ducked inside and closed the door just as the Cazador slammed into it.

* * *

The Courier's eyes opened instantly with the sudden impact against the door. He jumped onto this feet and in the shadows saw Louise stumble into the bedroom.

"There's a Cazador out back!"

Everyone jumped up and quickly equipped their weapons and armor. Louise was helped by Veronica as Sophia took her Plasma Defender out from its drawer and watched the door. At the same time Winfield drew his Fire Axe, and held it a diagonal defensive stance at the front. After putting their own armor on, Veronica and Louise equipped their Power Fist and Plasma Rifle respectively.

"Louise, use these cells instead." The Courier handed her two Microfusion Cells, both held two characters: MC. The pinkette had no idea what the difference was, but asking questions was currently not an option. The Cells were loaded into the weapon in an instant.

"Alright, we're at a disadvantage here. It can see us but we aren't going to be able to see it without us going outside-." A slight movement could be heard on the ceiling, which caused the group to freeze in place.

Veronica already had a quip prepared, "That's a wonderful sign, a Cazador with brains."

Louise, who still jittered from the adrenaline scowled at the Scribe, "Thank you Miss Obvious!"

"Enough! All of you keep it down!" The Courier barked out, completely displeased by the behavior the two youngest people in the room. "We need a distraction, Sophia?"

The scantily clad woman nodded, "I'll grab some stun grenades, hold on a moment." She quickly walked into the kitchen and after thirty seconds she brought out a dozen. "Alright everyone, these are old Pre-War stun grenades. Be extremely careful with them, even though you can't be killed by one, they will deafen and blind you for a time. They will play havoc with a Cazador's sense of sight, and hearing particularly well. Let me demonstrate."

Sophia pulled the safety pin and carefully opened the door a crack, "Fire in the hole." With a single motion, the grenade's fuse began to run as the flash bang flew out the back door. The stunner bounced once then detonated with the light and sound equivalent of a lightning strike.

* * *

Louise had to rub her eyes to get some of the flash out of her retinas.

'_Founder, those things are horrid!'_

As her hearing returned, the sound of a Cazador in pain cued the human response, "Everyone outside! Sophia, another one out the other door!" The team, minus Sophia ran out the back door as Sophia tossed a second out the front, another thunderclap blasted through the small town that was just waking up.

The Courier, the Scribe, and the Noblewoman got outside and saw a writhing Cazador just yards from the doorway. "Open fire!"

Plasma bolts from Louise immediately sheared its wings off, ruining the creature's mobility. The Courier and Scribe rushed in, with axe and fist cutting and pulping the mutated Tarantula Hawk Wasp into a fine greenish red goo.

"Ugh, that's disgusting. It's in my gauntlet!" Veronica immediately worked to get the Cazador's innards out of her Power Fist, only to lament more as it became more and more filthy.

Louise broke out in a guffaw and had to take a crouch to keep herself from falling over from laughter. The sound of approaching footsteps wasn't noticed as a pneumatic gauntlet's plate was pushed into her face. Her laughter immediately turned into gags as the wretched smell entered her lungs.

The pinkette managed to get out a sentence between coughs, "Not . . . fair . . . Veronica!"

The Courier couldn't help but snicker at their antics, but stopped suddenly upon seeing their scowls, a deep chill running down his spine.

* * *

**The Next Day**

**1100 Hours**

The Courier stood up and addressed the group, "Today we will be heading north on the western passage to make our way to Jacobstown. A new potential recruit is there from my solo trip into the former ski lodge, she will be invaluable for future recon, particularly against the Gangers. Any questions?"

After the briefing, the group equipped for the long and arduous trek across Great Khan territory. Veronica continued to pack her signature gauntlet, but added a scoped Laser Repeating Carbine Weapon (RCW) to her inventory with the requisite cells.

Winfield passed on powered armor given the large and uneven terrain, and wore standard Leveler's issued Plate Armor. The suit itself resembled ancient Roman Centurion armor, and made the 'Centurion' armor of the Legion look like scrap metal.

As his Pip-Boy could carry dramatic amounts of supplies, he was also the group's mule. Extra ammunition for all of their weapons, medical along with other aid items were brought in addition to a few specialized weapons, including a Missile Launcher, and cut-down Minigun.

Louise retained her previous load-out, which included a newly modified Plasma Rifle with a magnetic accelerator, purchased from Chet. The weapon was now a few inches longer, and heavier than before, making it difficult to aim properly. She figured she would have the opportunity to get used to its increased size and weight during their trip.

"You ready to go Louise?"

The man's question spooked her as she meekly looked up and answered only with a nod. Satisfied with her answer he raised his voice, "Everyone, move out!"

The trio made their way to the west side of town and turned onto the road out of Goodsprings. They passed by a few small rockslides and found themselves looking at an old fence topped by 'Stop' signs at the beginning of a shallow drop in the road.

Louise on the other hand had no idea what it was that she saw in front of her, "What do those signs say Sir Winfield?"

He answered truthfully, "The red signs say 'Stop,' while this board says 'Danger!'"

Veronica naturally spoke her opinion, "We seriously need to teach you how to read and write English. There are a lot of important signs that you need to be able to read. Radioactive warnings, minefields, etcetera."

While Louise grumbled, the group passed by the makeshift warnings and began the descent into the valley.

* * *

Several minutes had passed when a familiar sound emerged on the edge of his hearing. The Courier motioned for the team to stop as he took a knee and listened to the desert around him. Winds flowed across the trio and through the valley, a haunting echo filling the void. A buzzing sound, not unlike that which had been heard the night before immediately became apparent.

He turned back to the group, "Cazadores up ahead, be ready."

The trio shouldered their weapons, Winfield's Dinner Bell faced forward as the female members loaded fresh cells into their energy weapons.

* * *

Louise's heart was pounding so hard to the point it felt like it would leap out of her chest at any moment. As the group carefully made their way forward, a familiar buzzing sound emerged from a blind corner to the left.

The pinkette's eyes were immediately lined down the sights of her rifle as she slowly made her way forward. As she drew closer, her aim became more and more uncoordinated. Louise shook her head and steadied her aim as a freshly hatched Cazador flew into view. Without hesitation, she fired the rifle once and blasted a molten bolt of plasma through the mutant's abdomen, downing the creature in an instant.

Winfield's voice rang out, "Here they come!" With a single fluid motion he fired a slug straight into another Cazador's head and out its abdomen.

Veronica took aim, the auto rifle began to chatter as pulse after pulse was fired into a group of approaching hatchlings. The newborns had yet to grow hardened carapaces and burst into flame from the superheated blasts. As the group fell down, the Scribe was forced to hop to the side to avoid an adult's stinger. She tossed her rifle into her left hand and struck out with her Power Fist, rupturing the abomination's thorax with a single impact.

A group of six were fast approaching and were met with a frag grenade tossed by Winfield. His own natural experience with explosives made each grenade powerful enough to take out a group three times their number. The grenade detonated, sending thousands of steel balls and a number of armor piercing flechettes into the insects, the impact turned them into puddles of gore scattered across the valley floor.

Louise scored a direct hit on another adult and watched the creature dissolve into a green goo on the ground. More sounds of buzzing drew her back to reality as she hopped back, only to fall down. A Cazador leaped on top of her, stinger poised to strike her chest only to be blasted off by Winfield's shotgun and then vaporized by Louise's laser pistol.

As the buzzing subsided the group took inventory of their health, and found no issues other then a few scratches. The pinkette was offered a hand by Winfield and gladly accepted as she was pulled onto her feet.

The entire exchange took less then thirty seconds.

* * *

The Courier called for everyone to check one another for injuries, and was pleasantly surprised to find everyone in good health, if not a bit shaken.

_'For dealing with a nest of Cazadores, no injuries are a blessing.'_

He saw Louise remove her used Microfusion Cell and load a fresh one into her rifle's charge port. Veronica was shaking her Power Fist out as she tried to get any gore and body parts out of the pneumatic gauntlet. Her RCW had already been reloaded, the depleted charge pack hastily thrown into a pocket.

Winfield had already reloaded his shotgun with an alternating slug/magnum line up for added versatility, his Axe had yet to be used, but he felt the weapon would find a use soon enough. He motioned for the group to follow him up the small trail the Cazadores had come from, "Let's head for the high ground and make sure we don't get ambushed again!"

The trio quickly jogged up the hill to find a ravaged camp with various corpses lying about, all in equally various stages of decay. Louise was still very much sensitive to the stench of rot and kept her distance, the pinkette focused on looking down the path they had just come up from.

Veronica quickly ensured that every corpse was actually dead with a solid punch to their sternum. Afterwards she entered each tent and began to scour for any potential loot in containers.

As the two worked, the Courier equipped his lightweight Incinerator and began to burn every Cazador nest in sight. Hopefully the creatures would be unable to return to this location to breed any time soon.

Xxx

After they razed the camp to the ground and burned the bodies, the team wandered down a side passage just east of the camp in an effort to stay off the road. It was extremely rugged and worn, a rockslide would likely occur in the next monsoon, potentially blocking off the pass permanently.

The group wandered down to the bottom and saw wild Bighorners grazing in a fenced area not far from a sizeable lake. Louise found the big creatures adorable, "They look so cute!"

"Just don't get too close, they hit wiith enough force to send you through a wall. Oh, and Louise? Don't ever go near a calf, you'll have an entire herd chasing after you."

The pinkette gulped audibly, "O-of course Sir Winfield."'

The group continued to march on before coming to an interchange.

Louise turned to Veronica, "Why are we stopping?"

The Scibre turned back and whispered, "James must sense something is nearby, something we don't want to cross."

Winfield answered her question more specifically, "I smell Deathclaw droppings, I'd say there's a few not too far from us right now."

Louise shuddered at the possibility of meaning the Mojave's most talented killers. She remembered Cass' opinion on them, 'The Ultimate Hunter.' The pinkette knew in a direct confrontation she would have no chance at all, she even doubted her mother in her prime could take on more then half a dozen of the creatures and escape.

He spoke up again, "I need you guys to stay low to the ground and follow me into the pass, I've got a hunch." The female duo nodded and crouched low while following the Courier.

* * *

James Winfield knew the entrance of the Vault was likely nearby, and even more likely in plain sight. The Pre-War Vaults were designed to survive a nuclear apocalypse, and the anarchy that followed. Both required Vaults not just survive nuclear attack but infiltration from the outside.

The parking lot between the western and central Mojave was the most suspicious part of it all. 'No one would park in the middle of the desert to walk miles to their actual destination. There are no other Pre-War structures within walking distance, neither standing nor demolished to prove this.'

He carefully approached the center of the lot, and the small shack that held the spot and found a well camouflaged hatch leading underground. Winfield marked the location on his Pip-Boy map for later reference.

He motioned for the group to head back, only to hear heavy footsteps approaching. Winfield quickly brought them into the shack and got as low to the ground as possible.

* * *

Louise was scared, no, terrified by the footsteps that came closer and closer every second. It landed with a thick, hard *thump* and a brief clacking noise as the unknown creature came towards then. After ten seconds, the sound of its breathing and growls was the only thing Louise could hear, other then her own heartbeat. It felt like someone could hear her heart pounding in her chest from several feet away.

The edge of a whimper was about to emerge from her mouth and was stifled immediately. The Heavy Wind of Tristain was quite clear on fear, 'Fear is an emotion, nothing more. A Valliere does not let it control them. You must control _it_.'

The creature's talons continued to tap into the ground as the three remained hidden. A commotion in the distance took the mutated amphibian's attention and drew it away from the group at high speed.

* * *

The Courier was the first to look out and saw the full-grown Fire Gecko that almost found them sprinting on its hind legs up the hill towards the Quarry.

And he was a _big_ one.

"Feel sorry for the son of a bitch that caught his attention."

"Sir Winfield?" He looked down and saw a shivering Louise clutching her plasma rifle like a child and a stuffed animal.

"It's okay Louise-."

She nearly burst into tears, "W-w-what was that thing?!"

He couldn't help but sigh, "That was an adult Fire Gecko Louise."

"What do you mean by Fire Gecko?"

Veronica answered her question before he had the chance, "It's a purple red color and breathes fire. Much like a dragon would. They travel in packs and are very dangerous. Not as bad as Deathclaws, but is almost as lethal as Cazadores and Night Stalkers."

A solid shake of Louise's shoulder brought her back to reality, "We need to keep moving Louise, we have a lot of ground to cover before night fall. We need to be in the mountains by this evening, and in Jacobstown by dusk. Move out!"

* * *

**Followers Safehouse**

**1900 Hours**

After their trek across West Vegas, the trio managed to make it into the mouth of the mountains. Unfortunately, Veronica twisted her ankle a short distance up and the group was forced to return to the bottom for the night.

Before they could get to sleep however, Veronica needed to be patched up, "Ouch! Be careful Doc!"

Doctor Luria, a lifelong member of the Followers of the Apocalypse was wrapping the Scribe's left ankle in secondhand gauze while injecting her calf with a stimpak, "And we're done. I need you to stay off of that leg for a day or two to ensure that the swelling goes down and the ankle heals properly."

Veronica looked to the Courier for help who shook his head, "I need you at your best Veronica, Louise and I can make our way up to Jacobstown from here. She's more then proven herself to be capable in the short time we've known her."

She was about to protest, but held herself short, "Alright James, but don't you dare head back without me. Understand?"

The deadpan tone Veronica normally held was curiously silent as he nodded, "I promise, alright? Now get to bed, I'll go make sure Louise is all ready for tomorrow." He didn't hear the Scribe protest as he walked over to the other side of the safehouse where Louise was behind a curtain.

"Louise?"

"Hold on Sir Winfield!" He waited for another minute before she opened up the old shower curtain, "What's going on Sir Winfield?"

"Just making sure you're all set for tomorrow, we'll be heading out to Jacobstown, just the two of us."

The pinkette nodded, the discomfort clear in her posture, "I'm a bit nervous, that's all. What is this place we're going to?"

'The question was going to come up eventually, may as well answer and be done with it.'

"Jacobstown is both a refuge and a community filled with Super Mutants. Unlike those at Black Mountain, these mutants are trying their best to live peacefully. Sadly, most humans and ghouls don't trust Super Mutants at all, and actively harass the former resort. I'll tell you more on what to expect as we hike up there tomorrow, alright? Go get some sleep Louise."

She smiled, a tear growing in her eye, "Of course Sir Winfield," she whispered the last sentence, "And thank you."

* * *

A/N: This brings us to the end of the third installment of the Zero in the Mojave story. I've gotten a lot of commentary regarding my writing of this story and I am striving now to improve upon what you've talked to me about.

One thing that will remain in play from here on out will be the short scene in Halkeginia. I want to include at least one, and possibly more once the story grows larger.

In any case, thank you for your reviews and for reading!


	4. Divide And Conquer

**A/N: We're back with another tale from the Mojave! Followed by my responses to your critiques and commentary!**

**Irnzenmonk: Weapons will come as they will good sir.**

**Kname: Thank you =)**

**AznMagician: It does make sense, though Ork is probably a crude term to a Super Mutant**

**Iverness: I PM'd you about this, and I fixed it. I don't think you've given my story a second chance, and that makes me sads.**

**Trickster: Undecided at this point. Some will probably be included, but to what end or which ones remains TBD.**

**Aznxa21: Thank you =)**

**Truefortune: Uh, spoilers much? Too early to say, I haven't even decided yet.**

**Game time! A mild OOC scene for Cass is incoming, not a serious change, but a logical one in my opinion. Also, I've made a slight change to the 'Still in the Dark' storyline to permit the continued patronage of the Silver Rush (just an FYI).**

* * *

**Followers Safehouse**

**0900 Hours**

Louise woke up to the sounds of Pre-War music as she rubbed her eyes and stretched herself out. The sounds of bones and ligaments popping caught the attention of Veronica, "Hey! Sleeping beauty is finally awake!"

She was about to throw something at her, but instead took on a haughty tone, "Thank you commoner! Your opinion is so very appreciated!"

A snort from Winfield was the only response, "Smooth Louise, real smooth."

"I believe the noble term is 'suave' Sir Winfield."

Louise made sure she was decent before walking out from behind the curtain and came to the table.

A newer voice came from the door, "Good morning Miss, how are you?"

Louise curtseyed out of habit, "I am well Doctor Luria, thank you for having us in your home."

The blonde shook her head, "Mr. Winfield is a member of our organization and has done so much for the Followers, not to mention the people of the Mojave. Opening up our Safehouse was the least we could do."

A few more pleasantries were exchanged before the group sat down for breakfast, a small palette with a large omelet being shared with the group. In addition, clean water was provided as a drink and banana yucca was made into a side and vegetable.

The pinkette was surprised at the variety of food available in the Mojave. Even back home, some of the foods she had tried would have been massively popular with both the noble and common classes. This 'omelet' as she was told was a specialty made only in a few isolated areas.

"Doctor Luria, what is in this 'omelet?'?"

"I'm not sure miss, Mr. Winfield would be the one to ask. He did make it this morning after all."

"The Wasteland Omelet is an old family recipe from out west I learned after gathering Deathclaw Eggs for a woman near Goodsprings. It uses a box of macaroni and cheese as a thickener, crunchy mutfruit for sweetness, lakelurk meat as a protein base, and an omelet made from a Deathclaw Egg."

The pinkette would normally vomit at such a concoction, but the fact it went down so well and tasted so good was enough to simply make her nod. Then ask for seconds.

Veronica smiled, "It's good to see you trying new things Louise. These omelets are actually really good for you. Normal eggs often have high cholesterol and fat content, but Deathclaw eggs are remarkably lean, filled with protein. The Lakelurk meat is disgusting by itself, but when added to the ingredients present it's a remarkably tender and tasteful."

Doctor Luria continued after the Scribe took a breath, "The mac and cheese isn't that healthy, but that's a necessary sacrifice. The mutfruit as it's called is actually a mutated type of fruit from before the war, radiation and fallout changed its shape and composition. Remarkably it stayed in a similar enough form that it remains edible, even today."

The last parts were enough to make Louise try to put back what she had put on her plate. A stern scowl from Winfield caused her to bring the plate back and eat what was on it however.

* * *

**1000 Hours**

The Courier and Louise made their way up the steep inclines on the way to Jacobstown, the unsubtle temperature difference caused Louise's teeth to chatter.

"It's freezing up here S-s-sir Winfield!"

He nodded, "Up here the snows and cool air render most of the Mojave's heat irrelevant. Not many people can actually live up here however, there is still plenty of dangerous wildlife in these hills."

The pinkette's face took on a worrisome tone as she continued to shiver, "What c-c-can we expect S-s-sir Winfield?"

"Mostly Bighorner herds, but you'll find groups of Cazadores and packs of Giant Mantises about. Stay clear of the caves on the edge of the pass's walls however, I've been told Night Stalkers reside in them often."

The hike seemed to warm the young woman up as she stopped shivering, "What is a Night Stalker Sir Winfield? I have not seen one before."

"They are a freak of nature, coyote and rattlesnake spliced together in some mad genius' lab most likely. The combination of two completely different species is impossible without genetic modification, radiation can't do it on that level without death."

The pinkette would've only appeared more confused if she had a set of question marks appear around her. He summed it up before he ranted on about it, "In effect, they are quick, intelligent, poisonous and hunt in packs. You have a better chance of hearing them before you see them, so listen for their rattles as they shake them."

* * *

Louise nodded in understanding. The pinkette was still learning about the Mojave and all of its dangers, and she doubted she would ever learn it all. Seeing a Deathclaw was something she was not looking forward to however. From what Cass had said, they could be as smart as a human and had every physical advantage over them. It didn't help matters that Deathclaws rarely traveled alone in the Mojave.

'Comparing them to a manticore wouldn't be an inaccurate assessment.'

Admittedly, manticores could fly, and poison their prey with their barbed tail. On the ground however the two would likely be equally matched. A mature dragon could possibly fall prey to a small group of Deathclaws, or one to two highly experienced ones.

The pair walked up the winding road, weapons at the ready and heard a set of excited, chittering sounds coming from their left side. In an instant, both humans had their weapons trained as they saw a pod of Mantises come out from behind a boulder and charge forward.

Winfield opened up with the shotgun, the magnum-charged buckshot simply dissolving every target, while the slugs simply made the mutated insects explode in place. Thoraxes, abdomens, and various other detritus covered the ground in moments.

Louise sent bolt after bolt downrange, but was having difficulty landing shots on the small creatures. They were small enough as is, but when they started to hop from side to side she knew she was in trouble. The pinkette clipped her rifle over her shoulder and drew her pistol. With each pull of the trigger, a single pulse sent at the speed of light fried each Mantis targeting her. Unfortunately once her pistol ran dry a mantis got lucky and drew a gash across her left arm.

The noblewoman screamed in pain and kicked the overgrown insect in rage. The sudden impact caused the creature to simply crumple, fly several paces away and fall dead. Louise was barely able to use her left arm at all, but managed to load a fresh Energy Cell into the pistol to continue firing, only to find that every Mantis was dead.

"Are you alright Louise?"

She nodded, deep gasps between words, "I'm bleeding pretty badly, and it's very painful, but I'll be alright." The young woman immediately analyzed her damaged arm, "I won't be able to use it for a day or two most likely."

"They have a very good doctor up in the ski lodge, but until then I need to clean the wound and administer a stimpak. Can you hold still for me?"

* * *

The Courier got out the supplies he would need for her impromptu treatment, a bottle of whiskey, a set of bandages made from old clothes, and a stimpak.

"This is going to hurt, alright Louise?" He poured the whiskey onto the gash in her arm and was shocked by the sheer volume of her scream. Loud enough his ears were ringing like a frag grenade just went off next to him.

A tear-ridden Louise took a few gasps of breath, calmed down and nodded. Winfield injected the stimpak into the arm, earning a brief squeal of pain. He immediately wrapped the old pair of shorts around her arm and secured it with surgical tubing.

He wasn't expecting the one armed hug as she bawled into his armored chest. After a minute, the crying stopped and she removed herself from the Courier. With only her good arm, she took out her Laser Pistol and ensured it was loaded. While her wounded arm couldn't support weight, she could still manipulate its digits, albeit clumsily.

Louise carefully loaded a new set of cells into the weapon and locked it into place with her right side. She looked back to Winfield, "We should press on Sir Winfield. I don't want to be stuck out here when night comes."

* * *

**Jacobstown**

**1230 Hours**

The actual hike after the Mantises was completely uneventful, and the pair saw Jacobstown in the distance. Louise had calmed down significantly, and since the attack managed to bend her arm without excessive pain or difficulty.

_'These stimpaks are miracles, they can heal like magic, and reduce pain and swelling like ice can.'_

Her thoughts were interrupted when Winfield held her shoulder, "I need to remind you of a few things before we enter town. The big guys, both green and blue are Super Mutants and Nightkin respectively. The Nightkin do not like to be stared at, and should be avoided. Do not antagonize either type of Mutant, they are utterly vicious and capable of terrifying behavior when aggravated. The doctor's aide Calamity is a Ghoul, a human mutated by radiation. She looks like her skin is paling or decomposing, her voice is distorted as well. Do not point those traits out under any circumstances, it's considered to be quite rude. Are we clear?"

Louise nodded, "Will we be safe here Sir Winfield?"

The Courier nodded, "It's probably one of the safest places in the Mojave, provided you don't piss off the locals. Almost everyone is scared of Super Mutants and Nightkin, only mercenaries and fools antagonize them. Just stick with me or the doctor and you'll be fine."

* * *

The Courier and Louise walked into the front gates of Jacobstown and met briefly with Marcus, the effective head and public image for the community.

"Winfield, you've returned." The former Master's Army soldier looked behind the Courier and saw a pink-haired girl half hiding behind him, "Who's the kid Winfield? I didn't know people could have hair like that."

Her face took on a pout, but she wisely kept her mouth shut.

The Super Mutant nodded, "I think you'll do just fine here kid." He turned back to the Courier, "Winfield."

"Marcus."

The pair walked into the former ski lodge's courtyard, the smaller of the two very uncomfortable with the stares she received from the green skins.

Louise felt more and more like she was being eyed by a filthy lecher, or a cannibal. "Why are they staring at me Sir Winfield?"

"The Super Mutants here are relatively isolated from society as a whole Louise. Seeing a human, let someone with your color of hair, especially one that looks as unnatural as yours, makes them for a lack of a better word: curious."

The pinkette crossed her arms, "My hair is not unnatural Sir Winfield!"

The man sighed, "I'm sorry, it's unusual. Better?"

Louise rolled her eyes, "It'll have to do, not my fault you primitives are limited to a handful of hair colors."

The Courier smirked as the pair walked into the ski lodge.

* * *

Louise was surprised at how attractive the lodge itself looked, even after centuries of decay and a lack of maintenance. Much of the wallpaper was still intact, along with the upholstery and wood banisters. The building itself was musty, but if a small team of specialist wind and earth mages worked together the entire resort could likely be restored in a matter of weeks, if not days.

Winfield motioned to the pinkette, "This way Louise."

The noblewoman followed, even if her station didn't demand it in the least. Winfield was the one who saved her and took her in. The man was truly noble, even without magic, he asked for nothing in return for giving her a place to stay, food to eat, or water to drink.

A slight blush came across her cheeks, _'He isn't bad on the eyes either.'_

The pair walked into the common room on the right and the shorter of the two instantly recognized its purpose: an infirmary. Gurneys were set against walls on the left, with large beds in the far left corner. Pieces of equipment with blinking lights took up most of the room's far wall and right side. A center table was filled with various lab apparatus, the vials and flasks reminiscent of Colbert's workshop in the Academy.

Two humans walked inside, an aged male, most likely the one in charge looked into what appeared to be a miniature telescope that looked into some sort of light. The second was a feminine . . . something. The woman wore a lab coat and a skirt, but Louise's attention was drawn to the countless boils and lesions across her skin.

_'Winfield wasn't joking when he said that Ghouls appeared to be decomposing. I don't smell the rot that is normally associated with decay however. I'll have to ask about that later.'_

The older doctor turned to the pair, "Ah, Mr. Winfield, you're just in time. I'm in need of some field work done on the local Night Stalker population-." Upon seeing Louise's hair he froze in place, but returned to normal in an instant. He saw her arm he called for his aide, "Calamity, could you patch up this young lady's arm for me? I need to discuss some business with Mr. Winfield."

"Of course doctor, come over and take a seat on the gurney young lady."

The pinkette looked to the Courier who nodded and dutifully hopped onto the gurney. Carefully.

"Hello young lady, my name this time is Calamity, what's yours?" Louise tried her best to maintain eye contact, but after she gazed into the aged Ghoul's clouded eyes she simply couldn't handle it.

"Louise Fr-Valliere. And what do you mean by 'this time?'"

The woman crossed her arms, "Never seen a ghoul before dear?" Her brief gasp and blush caused the eternally 'young' woman to smirk, "Relax, I may not look healthy but I'm perfectly fine. I've lived for countless decades already, and my health has never declined."

Louise was stumped, '_What does she mean by countless decades?'_

"You must be new around these parts to have never seen a ghoul miss Valliere, where are you from?" The pinkette stumbled on her words as they came out a garbled mess, "I'm just making small talk Miss Valliere, don't worry about it. For the question you're probably thinking right now, the answer is Ghouls such as myself and Super Mutants do not age, we are remain at the age of our exposure for all intents and purposes, indefinitely."

"You're immortal?"

The deep, rumbling laugh caught her unprepared, "No dear, as long as our bodies continue to function we won't pass on from age or basic ailments. I can still die very easily, and I still bleed like any other creature. Now then, let me see your wound."

* * *

The former Enclave doctor explained his 'predicament' to the Courier.

"Ghost Stalker sightings have dropped considerably over the past two weeks, suspiciously so. The most disturbing are the reports of sightings that have Ghost Stalkers being able to actively cloak themselves."

Winfield's eyes widened, "If Ghost Stalkers could truly cloak they would be on even terms with nearly every apex predator in the Mojave. If they were to spread-."

"They could easily become the dominant species in the West. Deathclaws would still outfight them, but their younglings and potentially the blind would be vulnerable. Cazadores would be able to fight in the short term, given their rapid rate of reproduction. However, Mantises, Bighorners, Brahmin, and Bloatflies would be extremely vulnerable."

While the Courier was highly experienced with animals and mutated insects, he was rather confused on the role of the flying insects, "What purpose do the Bloatflies serve in the Wasteland anyhow?"

"They fill the role of the Pre-War vulture Mr. Winfield, they are scavengers who help break down the dead animals and plants in the Wasteland and return it to the Earth. All of the prey above are important food sources throughout the Mojave, the NCR, and even Legion territory. Worsening malnutrition or even a serious food shortage could occur with the loss of the various meats these animals provide."

Winfield nodded, "Not to mention the lethality of a cloaked Night Stalker against human beings would rise exponentially."

"That is why I need you to head north into Charleston Cave and find out what is causing the mutation and stop it. I have no love for the NCR, but we need to know just how severe a threat this mutation can be. If the outside world were to learn from where it originated from-."

"They'll return for revenge."

* * *

Louise grimaced as the final stitch was made in her arm and a second, final stimpak was administered. "Good as new Miss Valliere. I'd give the limb another day to rest and heal, so please avoid strenuous activity and exerting the arm as a whole."

"So I can't use my plasma rifle?"

"Not without risking tearing your stitches or the wound itself open. Stick to using your pistol instead."

"Thank you Calamity. When will you change your name again?"

The ghoul's mostly toothless smile appeared, "I haven't quite decided yet. You can sleep here tonight, if you'd like. You've been a good patient, and I'm sure Mr. Winfield will be taking up my offer as well."

The sound of the man's boots approaching, brought them out of their discussion, "Hello Calamity."

"Mr. Winfield, I'm glad you're doing well. How is Veronica?"

"She's quite well Calamity, she's resting up today. How was your newest patient?"

"Miss Valliere was an excellent patient, calm and collected. Asked good questions and was very polite, a rare trait in this time and age."

"Indeed it is," he turned to Louise, "The good doctor has asked me to take a look in a nearby cave for him, I'm going to have you stay the night here at the lodge."

The pinkette was about to protest but a single hand held in front of her stopped all debate, "No exceptions Louise, your arm needs to heal, and I want to ensure it heals properly. I will complete my task and then come back. Besides, the local wildlife will smell the blood from your wound. We'll leave in the morning for home, alright?"

Louise crossed her arms and huffed indignantly. She found a chair on the side of the room and sat on it. All the while she glared at the Courier as the armored man walked outside into the night.

* * *

**Jacobstown**

**2150 Hours**

Dusk had long since fallen across the Mojave and the only thing allowing the Courier to even see was the moon's reflection on the snow and his own superb low light vision. With every step the crackle of decaying pine needles revealed his position.

_'I need to find a less covered passage up to that cave.'_

From information Doc Henry provided him, Charleston Cave was a known Night Stalker den north of Jacobstown, in the hills surrounding the lodge. The tell-tale sound of rattles became audible as he got closer to his objective. He drew a modified 12.7mm pistol called 'Lil Devil' by its previous owner. The suppressed weapon would be ideal in keeping himself hidden.

Upon reaching the top of the hill he saw several Night Stalkers milling about. After taking a breath, he activated VATS targeting, and fired 7 shots into 7 heads. He exhaled as he tapped the magazine release and slammed a fresh set of hollow points into the weapon. The hand cannon pulled a round into the chamber automatically.

He quickly walked towards the side of the cave, and after he heard no other rattles close by, made his way inside. The Courier was thankful once again for his natural night vision as the cave's few glowing fungi provided the only source of light to see by. He returned to a crouch and went deeper into the cave, and froze after seeing the tell-tale distortion of a stealth field pass mere meters from his face.

_'This may end up taking longer than I thought it would.'_

Xxx

**Halkeginia – Tristain Academy of Magic**

**Noon**

"I present to you, Her Highness Crown Princess Henrietta de Tristain!"

Massive applause erupted as the future Queen of Tristain emerged from her opulent carriage. She donned a fake smile and waved to the crowd as she elegantly, yet quickly walked to Headmaster Osmond.

The headmaster and the staff kneeled respectfully as Henrietta approached them, "It is good to see you Your Highness, I wish it were under better circumstances."

A solemn nod answered him, "As do I Headmaster, as do I."

* * *

Henrietta sat down on the throne provided for her by the Academy, "I need you to explain the events of Louise's disappearance to me. The Crown has a vested interest in the fate of one who carries royal blood in their veins."

Osmond began to explain every fine detail that had been recorded on the day of Louise's 'death.' He, or Professor Colbert answered her questions promptly. After several minutes, the monarch rested her chin on one hand, "We have one clue to Lady Valliere's disappearance: the strange energy that was found in the crater and its match to both the workers' ailment and the Staff of Destruction."

The Princess nodded, "Explain to me how the Staff came to be in the Academy's possession. There are varying accounts of its origins, and understanding the truth could be potentially useful to my investigation."

Osmond nodded, "I was in my twenties, and still relatively inexperienced when I was attacked by a black dragon in the forests not far from here. A sudden, and blistering explosion of heat and pressure knocked me onto the ground as pieces of charred dragon fell to the earth. A man, armored in a type of heavy plate never seen in Halkeginia emerged carrying a type of shoulder-mounted catapult."

"Go on."

"He was severely wounded Your Majesty, but he injected me with an odd, yellow substance in a transparent sac of some kind before he collapsed. With my magic, I brought him back to the Academy and tried my best to care for him. He passed on from severe internal injuries and gangrene three days later. He was buried in the catacombs and his personal belongings locked in the Vault. I ensured everything attributed to him was stored separately from other artifacts, including the weapon he used."

"Can we see these artifacts?"

"With normal artifacts I would allow it Your Highness, but these unusual items emit a type of energy that is highly poisonous to any living being. One of the devices the man carried with can detect these energy waves, and it went wild upon touching the Staff of Destruction, and the ill groundskeepers."

Colbert stepped forward as a thought burst into his mind, "Your Highness, I believe I may have a theory."

All attention was brought onto the fire mage as he took a breath, "It is likely that the Staff of Destruction and Louise's disappearance may be related, if just by the comparison of the energy readings from the artifact to the soil from the crater."

Henrietta was rather curious at this new train of thought, "How so Professor? These events are otherwise completely unrelated."

"Your Highness, a man I once knew told me that once you rule everything out, the remaining possibility, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. In short, I believe that the Familiar Summoning Ritual did not summon a familiar for Miss Valliere, but summoned her to wherever that weapon came from."

"Impossible," Cardinal Mazarin interjected, "At no time has there ever been a recorded instance of the Familiar Summoning Ritual dragging the summoner away into some unknown locale."

Osmond frowned, "As much as I would like to debate the issue Professor Colbert, Cardinal Mazarin has a point. I've been the headmaster of this Academy for decades, and have access to a myriad of information. My own experiences confirm Mazarin's knowledge."

"Headmaster, if I may?" The grayed man gestured for him to continue, "Thank you sir. In my travels, there have been rumors of summoners being sucked away into some unknown place. And in every rumor-."

"Lies a hint of truth," Crown Princess Henrietta de Tristain finished. She turned to the balding man, "Please investigate this further, I'll see to it that any records you require are made available to you, and I will ask for Romalia to cooperate in your investigation. Currently the future of the monarchy is uncertain, only Her Majesty and I are members of the Royal Family. The Vallieres are next in line for the throne, and we must ensure that the line of succession is as clear as possible."

"By your will Your Majesty."

* * *

**Mt. Charleston**

**0200 Hours**

The Courier walked back into the lodge after he discovered the origins of the Night Stalker mutation. He was surprised at how easily a Stealth Boy's energy field could mutate a creature's genes, but such an occurrence may explain why Nightkin were so vulnerable to mental illness.

_'A change in brain chemistry perhaps?_' Winfield was no expert on neurochemistry or biology, but it seemed plausible at best. '_I'll leave Doc Henry to figure that one out. Perhaps something good will come from this.'_

He passed by the Super Mutant gatekeeper who let him pass without challenge. A nod of acknowledgement answered the Mutant's act as he continued to walk the cracked path towards the lodge's doors.

Winfield gingerly opened then closed the heavy pine doors and slinked his way into the infirmary. He ditched his armor and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

**0830 Hours**

Louise's eyes fluttered at the sound of heavy footfalls as her consciousness returned to reality. It had been a blissfully dreamless night, and the noblewoman slept comfortably on the large bed.

She turned her head over, in an attempt to block out the sound, only to smack headfirst into what felt like a brick wall. The pinkette groaned in pain and opened her eyes, only to blush upon the sight of his barely covered chest. Her eyes widened further as the muscles rippled with each one of his breaths.

_'He's gorgeous!'_

"Ahem."

Louise paled as she looked to a smirking Courier who quipped, "See anything you like Lady Valliere?"

The noblewoman's entire body went blood red in embarrassment, suppressed only as her brain shut down and she fell back onto the bed.

* * *

**1000 Hours**

A faint voice at the edge of her senses made Louise come out of her unconsciousness, "Louise? Are you in there Louise?"

"Leo wants to chop her up Little Jimmy!"

The distorted voice immediately caused her heart to race in panic.

"Tell Leo he can sate his bloodlust on the local wildlife and raiders, she's off limits."

She groggily whispered, "No one is chopping me but that gorgeous hunk beside me." The young woman felt drool as it came out of her mouth, but didn't particularly care.

Those around her did notice, and each struggled to hold in their laughter. Doc Henry, as stoic as he was just shook his head and went back to his microscope. Their feeble attempts at holding back laughter were loud enough to bring Louise back into reality entirely. She rubbed her eyes and screamed at the sight of Lily and her wide-brimmed hat.

Everyone in the room except Lily who felt emboldened to return the favor, "RAWR! YEAH HA!"

A familiar voice rang out, "Doctor Henry, what's going on?!"

The group turned and saw Marcus with an unamused look plastered across his face, "I've got the entire lodge yelling, there had better be a good reason for it."

* * *

Road from Jacobstown

1100 Hours

"Founder that was humiliating! Why did I say that?! WHY?!"

The Courier continued to watch with a slight smirk at the pinkette's antics.

_'She hasn't stopped blushing for the past hour, I wonder if that's healthy.'_

"Please Sir Winfield! I didn't mean anything by it I swear!"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back as he simply fell onto the ground and laughed hysterically, "How could you not Louise? Your face had a happy smile all over it, and _everyone_ saw it. Imagine what Veronica would say-."

"Don't you dare!"

"Little Jimmy, Leo is actually finding this rather amusing, it reminds me of a time when-." Both Courier and noblewoman ignored Lily's schizophrenic delusions as they both continued to stare each other down.

"Hey, Louise, James!" The group turned and saw Veronica approach. The sudden appearance only caused the color to drain from Louise's face.

The Scribe looked at both of them in utter confusion, "Uh, what did I miss exactly?"

* * *

**North Vegas Square**

**1430 Hours**

The quartet proved to be a rather odd assortment of individuals, if the reactions from the local squatters was any indication. The sight of a Nightkin with a straw hat, a woman in power armor with a Power Fist, a tiny petite girl with a plasma rifle and pink hair, and the man in front grumbling proved to gather stares as they continued to walk towards the Strip.

Louise's arm was healing rapidly, and while she was confident she could use her Plasma Rifle, she had no desire to worsen her injury or tear her stitches. Her right arm was completely steady, and felt completely normal after her blood pressure stabilized. She wasn't using it now however, the pinkette needed to conserve its strength.

"You alright back there Louise?"

The young woman turned to Winfield and nodded quickly, "I'm just resting both arms at the moment Sir Winfield. Nothing to worry about."

"Of course, now we'll be dropping by the Silver Rush to get you some additional supplies and armaments. I'd also like to pick you up another weapon for you to try out once we get back to Goodsprings. You'll be searched by the doorman however, so make sure to both declare and surrender your weapons to him to limit the invasiveness of the inspection."

That only proved to unnerve the pinkette further, "A doorman has to lay his hands on me?!" She nearly flashed back before a large hand on her shoulder froze her in place.

"Don't you worry little Lucy! If that man tries anything funny, Leo will have some fun with him!"

Louise couldn't help but chuckle at the Nightkin's antics, enough that she didn't notice that Lily had completely messed up her name.

The Courier smiled, "I think you'll be just fine Louise."

* * *

**Freeside – Silver Rush**

**1600 Hours**

The quarter came up to the doorman who motioned for them to stop, "I'm going to have to search you all before you enter, the only weapons permitted on company property are those we sell."

Louise stepped forward, and managed to unhook her rifle with assistance from Veronica, "Here is my rifle and my pistol commoner. Do not attempt to benefit from inspecting this noblewoman without retaliation." She pointed her thumb to the eight foot tall Nightkin who had a big, toothy smile across her face.

* * *

The doorman, Simon was stunned, and more than a little intimidated. Sure, he was all business, but he was also a man. He got his feels in when he could, and the Van Graffs typically looked the other way due to his loyalty and years with the family.

At the sight of a Nightkin with an absolutely massive makeshift sword, and what appeared to be a Marksman's Carbine poking out from underneath it he was convinced that sneaking a feel was more a little inadvisable.

"O-of course ma'am, I assure y-you I will be p-professional."

Louise smiled, "I'm glad we understand each other."

He searched the young woman gingerly, and quickly checked over the Courier and let both in as soon as he was done.

The pair of Louise and the Courier walked into the former casino and came to the front table in the center of the room.

"Welcome to the Silver Rush."

* * *

**The Lucky 38**

**1845 Hours**

The elevator rang as the reformed quartet walked into the Presidential Suite, all parties (except Lily) were tired and worn out.

The group sat down with Cass and had dinner, roasted Brahmin with a Nuka Cola for each.

Cass turned to the Courier, "When will we investigate the slaughter of my caravan Winfield? I'm thinking the trail is going to be cold soon enough."

"In order to fix both of our current tasks, we'll need to divide and conquer for the next few days. Cass, I'm leaving you in charge of Veronica and Louise as you investigate the caravan disappearances. As a Caravaneer you're just as good of a guide as I am with my Pip-Boy. In any case, I'm sure Louise is ready for the wasteland, as long as she is with good company."

The pinkette looked at him, "What about you Sir Winfield?"

"Lily and I will be heading southwest towards the site of the presumed Vault. From a few of our discussions I learned she was once the inhabitant of a Vault, so her perspective may be of good use."

"Of course little Jimmy! I'm taking full doses of my medication and-." Lily went off on a delusional tangent as the others continued to eat.

"Oh, one final thing Cass, under no circumstances can you make a decision that will affect our place here in the Mojave. If someone big is planning these raids I need your promise you will not become a wild vigilante without my direct approval. Do you understand?"

Cass nodded quickly, the Courier noticed her disappointment however, "Thanks for letting me out, I need the closure more than anything."

He turned back to Louise, "Make sure your arm is completely healed before you use your rifle again, alright Louise? You'll need the firepower given the locations you'll be going towards, so get better soon."

Louise smiled and nodded, "Thank you Sir Winfield, I will."

* * *

**Lucky 38**

**0830 Hours**

"Remember to bring some C4 James! You might just need it!"

The Courier rolled his eyes, "Thank you Veronica, I will."

Louise and everyone inside the mostly abandoned casino walked out together, and passed through Freeside before splitting up and going their own way. Both Lily and the Courier went west and followed the city's southern wall while the noblewoman and others went straight south.

"Cass, what exactly are we looking for? Sir Winfield mentioned something about raids last night."

The redhead sighed sadly, "Before James and I met, and I was a fairly successful business owner. In the Mojave there are only a few legitimate businesses one can enter, the water trade, clean water sales, and for myself, caravan trading. My father did it for decades back in the NCR and I'm continuing this legacy here. Or I was until the Crimson Caravan bought me out."

The pinkette seemed confused on a few terms, a fact which was picked up on by Veronica, "Louise, the water trade is another term for organized prostitution."

The youngest of the three women blushed and shook her head, "I meant the Crimson Caravan. I've heard of them a few times in my brief time here, but I have no idea what they actually do."

"They are one of the massive trading houses back in the NCR that has existed for decades now. They, along with the Van Graffs, and the Gun Runners are the largest trading outfits in the West. Their power means they can buy politicians in the NCR Senate to keep themselves effectively immune from criminal or civil prosecution," Cass answered.

Louise frowned, "It's not much different than the noble houses of Tristain. Nobles are required to be honorable in their dealings with both other nobles and the common rabble but-."

A snort from the former caravan runner caused the pinkette to stop, "its corruption Louise, regardless of how you say it. The NCR is rife with it, particularly with their legislature."

The young woman was about to retort before Veronica continued, "She's right Louise. The NCR is far more corrupt then Pre-War America was. Even back before the bombs fell you couldn't buy politicians like you can today. At most, you could have their votes and their favor, but in the Wasteland, the rules of Pre-War society go out the window."

Louise opened her mouth before shutting it with a snap. A vein popped out of her head as the trio walked south towards the remains of Cassidy Caravans.

_'I miss Tristain. At least we have honor there.'_

* * *

**Samson Rock Crushing Plant**

**That Same Time**

Both the Courier and Lily had made good time in their trek towards West New Vegas. After easily flanking a group of Fiends, a single fragmentation grenade ended any potential threat from them.

The pair had stopped for a water break in the shadow of a storage building. Even Lily, with her enhanced physical strength and abilities found the water rather satisfying.

"You should stay hydrated Little Jimmy! You too Leo! Don't want you either of you getting all tired on me!"

Winfield shook his head, even with the Nightkin's crushing mental illness she still had nothing but good intentions in every word. Every time she mentioned Little Jimmy, it made him wonder if her children somehow managed to survive into adulthood.

'Given how she refers to me as Little Jimmy she may already know his fate and be in denial. That, or she is really that ill.' He sweat dropped at the sight of Lily 'feeding' her bumper sword with the last drops of her water bottle and shuddered.

He turned and saw the small pass in the distance, and noticed what appeared to be a venting hole in the valley wall. Winfield instantly found his attention drawn to it, _'It smelled a little bit like rotten eggs by that parking lot, and that cave is spewing some sort of yellow gas – sulfur! Both of those places are connected!'_

The Courier quickly turned back to the Nightkin, "Are you ready to go Lily?"

"Let's get going Little Jimmy! Leo is thirsty for something other than water, hahah!"

* * *

**Cassidy Caravans Wreckage**

**1230 Hours**

Louise saw Cass's head bowed as she took a pile of ashes and threw them downwind.

"There's nothing left, nothing at all. Just ash and dust," Cass almost sounded on the edge of tears, but managed to keep them at bay. "Wait, there have been reports of other caravans being hit and burned down to nothing. Just like how Cassidy Caravans got hit."

Veronica raised an eyebrow, "You think there's a connection?"

"There has to be, energy weapons seem to be the only weapons used against the caravans, given the only casings on the ground are from the guards' weapons. That doesn't account for the depleted energy cells back behind the cart."

"The only groups that use energy weapons consistently are the Brotherhood, some of the Fiends, and -."

"The Van Graffs," Cass finished. "In a sick sense of irony it fits. The Van Graff family has always been ruthless in their business practices, yet still reputable. Given how unstable the two members here in New Vegas are however, violent take-overs don't seem to be all that unlikely in hindsight."

Louise looked at her with worry, "What are you going to do Cass?"

"As much as I want revenge, James asked me to hold back, and I will. For now. There are other potential caravan sites we can investigate in the area. James will want evidence, and a hunch just isn't enough for him to risk it all."

Veronica snapped her fingers, "I remember something interesting! Back when I was at the 188 full time, the Gun Runners representative there mentioned that they used to deal in energy weapons. Used to, because their caravans carrying the weapons were constantly ambushed by those who used energy weapons themselves."

Louise's brain connected the dots, "Cass, your caravan wasn't the first to be a victim of the Van Graffs. They have been targeting you, other independent caravans, and if what Veronica is suggesting is correct, the Gun Runners as well."

"It still doesn't explain any motive or reasoning behind the attacks!" Cass pinched the bridge of her nose, "Why can't things ever been simple for us?"

* * *

**Suspicious Parking Lot**

**1300 Hours**

The Courier carefully regulated his breath as his brush gun zeroed in on a young Deathclaw that wandered away from the others. The juvenile was still plenty dangerous, even freshly hatched Deathclaws could cut a man apart with little difficulty.

Winfield exhaled and pulled the trigger. In a mere moment, the heavy cartridge designed for long rifles and elephant guns blasted through the creature's chest cavity and pulverized its internal organs. He blinked as he witnessed the destined kill drop to the ground, its breathing rapid and labored. Its body struggled to control the blood loss and sudden shock.

It continued to let out gurgles and moans of pain as he approached until a 12.7mm round went through its head, silencing the beast forever. The Courier just walked forwards as he atomized its pistol and redrew his shotgun without a second thought. The pair made their way to the guard house and found the hatch only basically camouflaged against the concrete floor.

With a solid yank from Lily, the door opened up – with a grenade bouquet attached.

"Grenade! Drop the hatch Lily!" Distracted by the Courier, the Nightkin dropped the heavy steel hatch back down, very nearly cutting off a toe in the process. The sound of three bounces was followed by the blast wave that sent the hatch flying back upwards.

Winfield sat down on the ground and facepalmed, "Maybe we should try the cave now."

* * *

**Edge of the Sulfur Cave**

**1545 Hours**

Both the Courier and the Nightkin carefully made their way down the old rusted ladder into the cave itself. The actual cave itself was nearly undetectable, the yellow discharge from the cave's mouth was the only sign it even existed. It hadn't been present during their last excursion, but held the same smell that surrounded the Vault's blast door. The only logical conclusion that remained was that both the sulfur laced cavern and the Vault were connected in some way, figuratively or literally.

Lily came to the ground first and dropped to a crouch as her Stealth Field engaged, "Nothing here but us Little Jimmy!"

Winfield stepped off the ladder, took a crouch, and activated his own Stealth Boy. "Let's get moving Lily, nice and quiet."

Both cloaked teammates slowly snuck their way towards the pre-fab metal structure that jutted out from the cave wall. He drew his modified .22 pistol, loaded with hollow points, and activated the laser sight. A single red dot appeared as he moved up the stairs with Lily in tow. The sounds of a Night Stalker's rattle made him freeze in place. He inched his head up above the floor and found himself face to face with an adult.

The mutant sniffed the air before it hissed and prepared to launch itself at Winfield. The beast was brought to a grinding halt as a single round punched through the creature's right eye socket and bounced around inside its cranium. The used casing and the bloodied Night Stalker fell to the ground at the same time as the Courier took his pistol in both hands.

After he scanned the room, he found nothing of interest but a malfunctioning Nuka Cola machine and an old, rusted kitchenette. The pair carefully made their way down the stairs into the Vault itself, which was barely holding together. Winfield noticed the cracked and leaking walls starting to give way with age and from obvious neglect. He had heard stories of how older, or unattended Vaults simply disintegrated over time, the Earth tirelessly attempting to reclaim the space they occupied.

_'It seems this Vault is no different then.'_

Lily held up a Vault 19 jumpsuit in front of Winfield who nodded in recognition as he stored the soiled suit in his Pip-Boy.

_'That's one question answered at least.'_

Even more questions burst into the Courier's mind however, from Vault-Tec's decision to have a secondary access point into the Vault to why she hadn't seen any sign of the Powder Gangers arrival. He shook his head to clear those thoughts away as he gestured for Lily to follow him further inside.

The sound of clicking and talons skittering across the ground instantly caught his attention, 'Geckos too? How many animals are down here?' He carefully looked behind the corner and scowled at seeing two adult Fire Geckos fighting over a freshly killed Night Stalker. He checked his magazine, turned the corner and opened V.A.T.S. With nothing but a series of thoughts he inserted two .22's into each Gecko's head. The only sound that could be heard was the gently echoing report of the assassin's weapon as the pair moved forward.

Lily crushed the Night Stalker's head under her foot; the Nightkin had to deal with the creatures often – or not often enough in her opinion - in Jacobstown. Especially when the freaks became ambitious and attempted to take down the Bighorners. With Bumper Sword in hand, she had painfully reminded each pack that harming her Bighorners wasn't something she would tolerate.

Both turned a corner and froze in place at the massive crystalline construct that bulged from the wall. Before he could approach however, a trio of Geckos noticed his advance and charged at him on all four legs. Without hesitation, he brought up the pistol and shot round after round into all three heads until the magazine ran dry. With a resounding click the hard hitting hollow points stopped flying, and the remaining Fire Gecko took advantage of the situation.

Or would have, had the creature not been un-legged by Lily's Bumper Sword, held in the air by its throat and rammed downwards and found its skull crushed into the cavern floor.

"Thank you Lily."

"Of course Little Jimmy! Wouldn't want to see your noggin get chewed on!"

_'She's very good intentioned, for a Nightkin with a serious case of delirium and believing everyone smaller then her is her grandchildren. Don't want to be around when she learns that unpleasant truth.'_

Winfield walked over to the construct and immediately recognized the mystery objects jutting out of it as crystalized lithium. He knew from his time reading Science books that Lithium was a highly unstable metal and reacted violently to water in any concentration.

A thought bloomed in his mind as he connected the dots, _'The wetness of this cave, in addition to the sulfur presence effectively make this large boulder an even larger bomb._' He quickly scrolled through his Pip-Boy and smiled, _'Thank you Veronica!'_

He took several bricks of plastic explosives and set them around the boulder. To ensure they wouldn't be disturbed he covered every charge with a light dusting of the yellow dust that lined the cavern. Both he and Lily backtracked out of the Vault and outside without incident.

After moving a hundred yards from the cave entrance Winfield motioned Lily to take cover in a ditch alongside him.

He palmed the detonator in his hand and smirked, "Fire in the hole."

* * *

**Durable Dunn's Caravan Wreckage**

**1550 Hours**

Cass sighed, "So it seems the Van Graffs were responsible for the caravan attacks after all."

Veronica brought the bodies together, "Yes, but why is the Crimson Caravan involved?"

"The only possible reason is profit. I know McLafferty is a hard-ass, but this is beyond what I thought the Caravan could ever do. Hell, she runs the company in its entirety, so this is almost certainly happening on her watch."

"The Crimson Caravan is attempting to build a monopoly of trade caravans in the Mojave."

Louise frowned at hearing that. While exclusivity was common and single families sometimes controlled an entire industry in Tristain, such violent take overs were exceedingly rare. Most nobles wouldn't dare go after other noble houses in such an underhanded manner, lest they face censure from others or the Crown itself.

"A trade monopoly is legal in Tristain, but a large house attacking another like the Van Graffs is unheard of anywhere in the Kingdom. I have a duty as a noblewoman to bring these rogues to justice, as much as you have the right to take your revenge Cass."

Veronica shook her head, "We can get the Van Graffs into trouble with their superiors back in the NCR without much difficulty, but the Crimson Caravan is another matter entirely."

Louise turned to the brunette, "What about the Gun Runners? Would they act if provided information about the Van Graffs activities?"

The Scribe crossed her arms, "It's possible, although unlikely. While the Gun Runners completely control the gun trade in the Mojave, they simply do not have the focus to handle the water and food trade that the Caravan does."

Cass nodded, "They all rely on each other in a sense. Each has their own staple set of goods, the Gun Runners obviously being guns, the Van Graffs' energy weaponry, and the Crimson Caravan's general goods that encompasses everything else." She paused for a moment before her eyes widened, "James might have dirt on the Caravan! He did some work for McLafferty before we teamed up, its possible he knows something we don't-."

A brief earthquake started, cutting off the Caravaneer before she finished.

Veronica rolled her eyes, "Speaking of James. . ."

* * *

**Samson Rock Crushing Plant**

**That Same Time**

After the Courier pulled the trigger on the detonator, the charges of C4 that lined the mineral-infused boulder exploded. The explosive reaction coupled with the extreme moisture present in the cave caused a massive chain reaction throughout the tunnel system. Deeper deposits of lithium and other alkaline metals reacted violently and collapsed the cave system in its entirety.

The explosion had not left the Vault's malfunctioning reactor intact either. The sudden thermobaric blast inside the caverns compromised its already worn containment vessel causing a runaway nuclear reaction – directly underneath the occupied Vault. The hardened Vault, designed only to survive glancing multi-kiloton nuclear impacts and airbursts, was completely unprepared for a very direct nuclear explosion.

The lower Vault and its main counterpart above it were completely unprepared as nuclear fire erupted through the facility. In an instant, the entire leadership, and best armed members of the Powder Gangers were flash-fried, vaporized and crushed as the entire bunker collapsed upon itself.

Winfield kept his head down until the shockwaves had stopped. When he raised his head he gawked at the damage the C4 had created. Out of curiosity, he made his way over towards the cave entrance. At twenty yards from the mouth of the cave his Geiger counter started pinging lethal.

_'Must have breached a reactor down there, explains the nature of the damage down there.'_

He quickly jogged over to the old parking lot and was stunned to see a massive bulge coming from the pavement, or what was left of it. The cars had been wrecked and the majority of the former parking lot was now a giant white blister coming out of the ground. His Geiger counter pinged again confirming his suspicions of both entrances being connected.

"Lily, let's head back to Freeside and meet with the others."

"Alright Little Jimmy!"

* * *

**A/N: So ends our fourth installment of the Zero and the Mojave! You have been very supportive and strong critiques of my story so far and I'm pleased its gained so much interest.**

**I'd like to talk to you all for a moment about something I'm seeing an increasing number of here on Fan Fiction: So-called challenge fics for one. I believe the idea of taking a challenge from a reader is a perfectly valid one, it adds a dynamic that you may not have thought existed beforehand.**

**For example, I was challenged to write several different FOZ Crossovers, and a Devil May Cry Crossover. These new possibilities have given me the chance to open up to new fans and niches throughout this website.**

**Admittedly, I have a tendency to make crossovers that are normally unheard of, particularly with the Familiar of Zero. For example, I am the only writer to date that has ever written a Starcraft/FOZ X-Over (to the best of my knowledge). It is also my most popular work to date, now onto its second season after a full first season and OVA.**

**What I have been seeing an increasing number of however is people who simply fail to bring us, the readers into their stories. One of my biggest gripes is the lack of attention to the quality of writing, especially with proofreading, spell check, and dialogue structure. The quality of a story's very summary often dictates whether I read a story, let alone favorite it.**

**My second, and much less minor issue is a lack of content. Many stories have less then 2,000 words per chapter, and while they are quite good I am left wishing there was more effort put into it. A problem I have been having is having too much content per chapter. I haven't written a chapter this long since the finale of the first season of Hail to the Zero Queen, and it scares the hell out of me sometimes. After writing a big chapter, some people lose steam and simply stop writing. I'm having the issue of not being able to stop and hurting the story in the process.**

**I may just be getting paranoid, but these are my thoughts on current stories and my own writing. I needed to vent them and I hope to hear your thoughts on them in addition to any reviews you have for this chapter.**

**As always, thanks for reading!**

**"I oughta break a broom handle off in your ass!"**


	5. Undercover Investigation

**A/N: Alright you crazy readers! We're back for another fresh new chapter of the Zero in the Mojave! Followed by my responses to your reviews!**

**Madgormley: Thank you very much =)**

**Ninon Beart: Thank you very much =) I've always wondered why no one did a reverse Fallout summons before, it's such a good idea that others have neglected to try. So naturally, I had to give it a go. And Louise's old habits die hard. =D**

**True Fortune: Yes, she will gather new arms and armor as time goes on. New skillsets and abilities will come into play as well. Some unique, and some standard weapons as well.**

**Ww1990ww: At this point such a pairing is extremely unlikely. The Courier may not be all that much older, but he simply doesn't view Louise as a love interest. As I've mentioned earlier in the story, he doesn't have a good touch with women. And being the lover of a 16 year old pink-haired mage from Halkeginia is a bit out of his comfort zone. Just a bit.**

**Celestia's Paladin: She could definitely do worse, I mean being sodomized by a Super Mutant, as well as being turned into a 'receptacle' for the Fiends makes Winfield look like a bigger angel then he already is.**

**As I've mentioned previously, the DLC's may take a role somewhere in the story. How they will be implemented remains to be seen, although I can tell you with certainty that at least one DLC will be used in this story. It's also my personal favorite, TBA. =P**

**Also, seriously OOC (but awesome) Cattleya moment incoming! In addition, SERIOUS spoilers for later seasons of the Familiar of Zero, both anime and facts about Brimir come to light. In addition to some minor OOC moments for Vittorio. You Have Been Warned!**

**Game time!**

Xxx

* * *

**Freeside – Strip Entrance**

**2000 Hours**

Both teams had met up near the Gun Runners factory around the same time and walked together to the Strip's main gate. After a short walk and a bean bag shotgun shell to an overzealous local, they had made it to the gate. Cass couldn't wait any longer however, "James, we know who has been hitting the caravans. It's the Van Graffs."

The Courier turned around with a finger over his lips, "Not here Cass! Back in the Lucky 38!"

The redhead was about to speak again before an elbow from Veronica stopped her. The two women glared at one another as the group walked onto the Strip.

* * *

**Lucky 38**

"Alright Cass, you're clearly on edge and I now know why. What evidence do you have of the Van Graffs activities?"

"The two sites within walking distance had signs of energy weapon use, specifically ashes from a laser weapon. The second site, a new one had corpses baring the insignia of both the Crimson Caravan and the Van Graff merchant houses. Both factions held wounds from weapons not their own or the others, implying that both attacked the merchants together."

Veronica took over, "In addition, I have heard of cases of energy weapon carrying Gun Runners caravans being ambushed by opponents who themselves were using energy weapons."

The Courier sat down as he pinched his nose, "This is way bigger then we can comprehend if what you're implying is correct Cass. The Crimson Caravan and the Van Graffs joining in a business venture to gain a trade monopoly by intimidation, buy-outs, and contract murder? The authorities would never go for it!"

"Then we don't go to them James," Cass answered simply.

He stood up, "What you're suggesting is very dangerous Cass, I hope you know that. You're talking about declaring war on two of the most powerful sects of the NCR if you go on the attack."

"What do you propose then?! The NCR Senate is in their pocket, and it would take years for any litigation to get through an NCR court! We kill McLafferty and the Van Graffs and be done with it!"

"What we need is proof Cass!" He shook his head, "If we have legal cause to go after them we have a shot."

"We could ask the Gun Runners for support." Veronica said, "The Gun Runners are tough, but still fair merchants who at the very least are being screwed by the Van Graffs. You take out one partner, the whole agreement collapses, regardless of what the other wants."

Louise cleared her throat, catching the attention of those present, "Veronica is correct, the Crimson Caravan doesn't have the manpower or thugs to take on the caravans alone. If they did they would have had no need to do all of this. They need the Van Graff's to provide that, and I'm sure the Brotherhood would like more control over Energy Weapons here in the Mojave, wouldn't they?"

Winfield eyes widened at Louise's perspective, "It's so ridiculous it may end up working. The question remains however, how will we get inside to deal with them?"

Veronica smirked, "I think it's time to do a little research, don't you think James?"

* * *

**Freeside**

**0900 Hours**

The Courier had awoken earlier that morning and had left the Lucky 38 alone. He knew that in order to keep the others safe he needed to keep them away from any investigation that may occur. Once the NCR knew about the Van Graffs actions, the difficult proposition of having their identities revealed became a potential issue.

_'That's what I presume, provided Cass doesn't take revenge out of simple impatience.'_

He couldn't simply go snooping around the former casino without the tenants becoming suspicious. Instead of a direct approach, he went towards the best source of independent information on this side of the Colorado. A ghoul known only as Rotface.

"If it isn't my favorite customer! How are you Winfield?"

He smirked, "Looking well as always I see."

Rotface held a hand over his heart in mock horror, "Oh the agony!" Both men chuckled as the aged ghoul continued, "Got a cap?"

Winfield nodded, "A cap it is, provided it is something about our resident laser lovers."

A single bottlecap landed in the ghoul's lap, "I hear the Van Graffs are seeking people for guard duty here in Freeside." Another bottlecap, "They have also been hiring independent mercs for thug work, where I don't know."

Winfield smiled and tipped him another five caps, "Pleasure doing business Rotface."

"Likewise Winfield."

* * *

**Lucky 38**

**1000 Hours**

The Courier walked in and saw the girls (including Lily) eating breakfast in the dining room.

Veronica spoke up first, food still in her mouth, "Morning James, what's the word?"

"Turns out the Van Graffs are looking for an employee to fill a job position here in Freeside, a guard's post. Twelve hour shifts, and hopefully access to the store's interior."

The Scribe nodded, "They wouldn't hide the proof in plain sight, they'd hide it somewhere safe."

Grunts of agreement came from everyone else present, including Louise.

* * *

The noblewoman's behavior had changed substantially, even with her short time within the Wasteland. Not a single drop of water wasted, nor a single bite of food untasted. She knew that while many nobles in Tristain (and in Halkeginia) wasted much, particularly food and drink to the point of excess. The Vallieres did not become powerful or wealthy just by being close to the Crown.

They did not waste resources without reason, let alone without a return on their investment. The largest financial contribution the family had made in recent years was their support for the Tristain Academy of Magic. Such 'donations' gave Louise the chance to continue attending, even when her explosions threatened her continuing education.

The Rule of Steel was not just being unbreakable, it was also being practical and most of all, disciplined. Louise was a firebrand and had an explosive temper by nature, and Steel had controlled and molded such emotions. Admittedly it wasn't always effective, but it kept the young woman from obliterating anything or anyone that annoyed her.

She looked down at her waist and found her unused wand on her side, '_I haven't used it since I arrived here. Have I changed that much?'_

"Louise?" The pinkette's focus was broken as Cass looked at her worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking about everything."

"Do you always look that depressed and serious when you worry?"

Louise snorted, "No, I was not worried about anything. I just realized I haven't used my magic since I arrived here."

Veronica butted in, "Why haven't you?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Because every time I cast a spell I cause an explosion. None of my spells work, none at all!" She looked away in shame, "It's why they called me Louise the Zero back at the Academy."

The questions halted as Louise continued, "I was bullied about everything, and called 'The Zero' because of my zero talent in magic, my zero chest size, and my zero curves!"

The tears began to pour, "My mother and father don't believe in me, and before I was eight years old I was engaged to be married! My eldest sister called me a Zero while my middle sister was the only one who loved me at all!"

Winfield looked at her in shock, "Your parents got you a fiancé before you turned ten years old?! What kind of world do you live in?"

Louise yelled back, "A world where a noble is judged only on their ability to cast magic! I was unable to cast magic, a disgrace to my lineage. I was to be married off as a baby factory for a nobleman of considerable prestige!" She sniffled, "Admittedly, I always had a crush on him as a child, but I'm older now. If I had still been in Tristain after my failure I would be in wedding preparations at this very moment."

With a single sigh she finished, "I'd be married by the end of the month, and with child by the end of the second. My life would effectively be over, even with the considerable status I would marry into."

Silence gripped the room as Lily walked over and held Louise in a bear hug, "I don't understand what you're talking about Little Lucy, but I know when my grandchildren cry they need to held close."

The Courier's eyes widened as Louise melted into the hug and smiled, "Thank you grandmother."

He turned to Veronica who shrugged in confusion as she cleared her place. Cass nodded as she approached Winfield, "James, I think they need to bond, so let's go talk about this in the other room."

He nodded and quickly made himself scarce as the Nightkin and the Noblewoman held each other tightly.

* * *

Cass took a seat on the couch as the Courier began, "From what I've learned, the Van Graffs are looking for a new member at their store. I'm assuming it's a guard post or working as one of their thugs, based on what they all do around that place anyways."

The redhead shifted, still uncomfortable with the idea of letting the Van Graffs go. "It seems simple enough, take the job, blend in, and snatch the evidence."

Veronica agreed, "Indeed, and the Brotherhood would like to see the Van Graffs removed from the equation if possible. I can say that with relative certainty. It will however take some time for you to make it inside."

Winfield turned to the Scribe, "You think the Brotherhood would be willing to help us understand what brought Louise here in the first place?"

She nodded, "It would be a new endeavor for the Brotherhood to branch into the non-technological world. There's also the chance the Elder would simply dismiss us and be done with it. Wouldn't be the first, with this Elder or McNamara."

Cass became the most excited at the thought of revenge, "When do we get started?"

Winfield answered, "I'll go down and inquire about the job in an hour. I'm going to clean up and hopefully make a good impression. In the meantime, I want everyone to stay here at the Lucky 38 for the duration of my investigation. I don't want to have to pull out of Freeside because someone got a little too excited."

* * *

**Freeside – The Silver Rush**

**1230 Hours**

The Courier made his way inside after being frisked by Simon and casually walked up to the sales desk. Gloria Van Graff leaned against the wall, reading an obviously worn issue of Future Weapons Today as she stepped forward, "Welcome to the Silver Rush. The only place for the finest energy weapons, anywhere."

Winfield smiled, "Hello, I'm looking for a job. Are there any positions available?"

The dark-skinned Van Graff nodded, "It just so happens we do. We need a temporary door guard, one of our long time employees needed to return to the Boneyard due to a 'family emergency.'"

He couldn't help but read the writing on the walls, "Of course. What can you tell me about the job itself?"

"It's fairly straightforward, simply guard the front door and ensure that only proper, paying customers come inside. Our current door guard Simon, can instruct you further. You'll receive a flat rate of fifty caps per shift you take, each shift was originally eight hours, but due to limited staffing, it was raised to twelve hours."

"What makes a good candidate to work here at the Silver Rush?"

Gloria smiled gently, "A good employee follows directions and orders to the letter. No deviation is permitted, although if you are unclear on a task it is your duty to clarify details."

_'A fair, and very clear set of guidelines._' Winfield nodded, "I believe I am the best fit for this position Miss Van Graff."

She nodded, "Provided you ask proper questions and avoid unnecessary or difficult ones, I believe you are correct."

He smiled as he shook Gloria's hand, "When do I start?"

"Right now," she turned to a laser rifle toting man nearby, "Jean, could you get our newest employee a weapon and armor?" Gloria turned back to the Courier, "Any preference?"

"I normally use heavy shotguns, is there a Multi-Plas rifle available?"

Jean-Baptiste Cutting nodded as his gruff voice boomed, "We have one in storage, come on back and get changed whelp."

* * *

**Tristain Magic Academy**

**Fenrir Archives**

Professor Jean Colbert had scoured the secure section of the library ever since being dispatched by the Crown Princess. Twenty hours later he was exhausted and desperately needed to sleep.

'I am in way over my head it seems.'

"Professor Colbert?" The bald man turned and saw a maid, Siesta if he remembered correctly, with a kettle of tea and a large jug of water. "Are you alright My Lord?"

He smiled, "Yes, everything is well Siesta." She crossed her arms and gave him a look that simply said, 'I know you aren't telling the truth.' Colbert sighed, "No, everything is not alright. I've been at this for nearly a day straight, and there's no one else I trust with this."

"If I may ask My Lord," Colbert nodded, "What seems to be the problem? Is it too much material, or the lack of time?"

A deep sigh came from the fire mage's lungs as he nodded, "Both Siesta. Don't repeat this to anyone else, but many of the Academy teaching staff is less than adequate in skill and dedication. Besides, Her Highness assigned this task to me personally."

The maid's eyes widened, "Are you truly in this all alone?"

He frowned, "No, not really. The Church is sending officials to assist me, but I fear they may try to simply cover-up the incident rather than properly investigate it."

Siesta's eyes closed in sorrow, "I don't believe I understand My Lord. As a commoner, we don't have many interactions with the Church."

Colbert knew exactly what the maid was saying and nodded, "You're a lot smarter then you give yourself credit for Siesta." The maid blushed and he couldn't help but smile slightly, "Thank you again Siesta."

She bowed respectfully, "Thank you Professor Colbert."

* * *

**The Duchy La Valliere**

**That Same Time**

Karin Desiree de La Valliere finished explaining what had happened at the Academy and found faces filled with sorrow. The Duchess had wept for hours on the way back, holding onto her Manticore as the tears fell.

Her husband Centurion was one of the more emotional ones present. His head was held in his hands, as he choked back his sobs. Eleanore tried to maintain a façade of peace, but her grip on it was visibly deteriorating.

Cattleya was remarkably calm however, a sight which had surprised the typically stoic woman.

"Are you alright Cattleya?"

The middle daughter of the Vallieres nodded, "She isn't dead."

Eleanore went to reach her sister, "Cattleya its okay-."

A loud slap echoed throughout the room as the eldest Valliere sister was sent flying out of her chair, as a spurt of blood hung in the air.

The entire family stood aghast at the sight of Eleanore managing to bring herself back onto her feet. Blood could be seen coming out of her right nostril and a matching bloodshot eye along with it. Her shaking hand felt the blood and the swelling taking hold as she spit out two of her teeth into her hands.

"Cattleya-?" She managed to whisper out, utterly stunned at her sister's act.

"She. Is. Not. Dead. I've been the closest member of this family to Louise ever since she came into this world." The venom built in her voice, "None of you have the right to simply write her off as lost." She turned to Karin, "Mother, you of all people should know we are Vallieres! We do not simply give up and dishonor ourselves because all seems lost! Did you give up when the Zerbsts attacked our lands?" Cattleya looked to her eldest sister, "Did you give up when your studies and academics nearly crushed you?" Then to the Duke, "Did you give up after learning the Heavy Wind was a woman instead of a man?" The pinkette took a breath and spoke louder than she ever had before, "Did you all give up on me when I fell ill for the first time?! You all know the answer, and that is the same answer regarding Louise. She is still alive, and if any of you say otherwise I will _gladly_ slap that nonsense out of you. Do you all understand?"

Nervous nods emerged from everyone, even the legendary Heavy Wind herself felt cowed by the sudden outburst. "I understand Cattleya, and there are others who believe the same." Silence emerged as she continued, "Some of the staff and a student saw Louise be sucked into the explosion and vanish. Professor Colbert, the Church, and even Her Highness Crown Princess Henrietta are working to bring her back." Looks of shock dotted the room as Cattleya sat down, her mind and worry resolved.

Her traditional smile reappeared, "Then we have nothing to fear then."

* * *

**The Holy See – Aqueilas**

**Kingdom of Romalia**

**Forty Eight Hours Later**

A blonde man, no more than thirty years old sat upon his gilded throne – and within his gilded cage as he mulled over documents recently received from Tristain.

'_A reverse summoning, and one within my lifetime. I never thought I would see the day.'_

Upon assuming his position six years prior, The Pope of Romalia Vittorio St. Aegis XXXII was briefed on countless secret operations and tasks the Inquisition - and by proxy the Church – took on at a regular basis. Countless heresy inquiries and closed door trials took place on a fairly regular basis, along with the requisite executions. Exploration of Elven Lands and even talk of expeditions to chart the Brimic Ocean in detail.

The reality of the Void being far more widespread was the largest surprise of them all. For years since his childhood Vittorio believed he was the only Void Mage in existence. Only after becoming Pope did he realize how wrong he was. The Void was very much active and had split itself between the Brimic Kingdoms, with all four sharing a specific part of the Void.

Tristain held the Left Hand of God. Shortened to 'Gandalfr,' it granted a Void familiar unfettered mastery of any and all weapons and armor. The spells casted by Brimir to bring weapons from other worlds to Halkeginia was directly designed to assist the Gandalfr in their goal.

Romalia was the keeper of the Right Hand of God. Shorthand for 'Windalfr,' it granted the wielder total and complete control of beasts and animals alike. The magically imbued runes made any dragon, gryphon, and even Manticores completely loyal, without hesitation.

Gallia held the Mind of God. Translated as Myozthirun, the powerful magic granted the user total control over magical artifacts. Countless magical artifacts used by Brimir are in fact completely useless without this familiar's assistance. Even Elven artifacts could be handled with little concern by this familiar, making it highly sought.

Finally, Albion held the final piece, whose name had been lost to time. No records survived of its name or purpose, but various rumors and theories had the Albion quarter could dispel magic on a massive scale. Ever since the fall of the Royal Family however, the line of succession became clouded.

What had shocked him just as much was the unfettered truth about Brimir and his actions. He had shuttered himself in his personal quarters for many days to contemplate his role and that of Brimir. While the Founder's original intents were as pure as the Scripture stated, he _had_ changed over time. The actions of his elven familiar, while treasonous in his heart, were from a logical perspective not so evil upon reflection.

He knew he had to keep such facts to himself however, countless other Cardinals and Bishops vied for his position. A heresy inquiry would be impossible to survive this early into his reign as the head of the Church. He lacked the political capital to defend his post nor the loyalty of the Inquisition itself.

Over time however, he had forgotten that perspective as the views of his followers consumed his previous doubts. It had been necessary in the end as he prepared to work towards his legacy as Pope – a new crusade to retake the Holy Land. Every crusade had been marketed as a glorious set of battles led by heroes. Church records said otherwise however.

Every major battle the Crusaders fought was at best, a Pyrrhic victory. The worst of which was the Battle of Alexandria where only 500 Elf Magic Knights held off a force ten times their own for nearly two weeks. In the end, the defenders fell, but before doing so had inflicted nearly 95% casualties. The battle, which had taken place 1200 years earlier claimed an entire generation of noblemen. The loss of such numbers ended any talk of war between the Brimic Kingdoms impossible for nearly a century and a half. It was also the last time Halkeginia was truly united against a common foe.

This reverse summoning was a key moment however, any such occurrence was quickly covered up and hidden. His years as Pope and the Archives proved such an anomaly was one that bared an omen. An omen that predicted serious struggle or difficulty in the months and years to come. What was especially troublesome was the heir of the Void it took, a noblewoman with Royal blood and closely affiliated with the Crown Princess. His advisers notified him that Henrietta de Tristain would be taking the throne in a matter of weeks or months to replace her ailing mother. The one and only thing the Pope knew was that troubled times lay ahead.

'_Could it be Reconquista? Or is it something else we have yet to see?'_

Several minutes passed before he nodded solemnly, a decision made. He rang his call bell, and after the platinum center piece hit the gilded side, his confidant entered.

The blonde man kneeled before the Pope, "How may I serve Your Holiness?"

"Julio Chesare, go to the Tristain Magic Academy immediately and support the Tristainian investigation of a reverse summoning."

The wielder of Windalfr gasped before returning to his stoic charade, "Your Holiness? I thought those were guarded secrets?"

The Pope nodded, "They are Julio, but I fear that dark times are upon us. Please use discretion and your better judgment in your dealings with the staff and the Royal Family. Both have a vested interest in Miss Valliere's return. My only request is that you maintain a degree of secrecy and carefully decide whom you share information with."

"Yes Your Holiness. May I take my leave?"

"You may, and good luck old friend."

* * *

**Freeside – Three Days Later**

**1205 Hours**

Winfield stifled a coming yawn, _'Just another day on guard duty.'_

The last few days had been considerably dull, not many people came to the Silver Rush who were actually serious customers. Most of those who came by were hopeless drunks and addicts seeking a good time or more of their poison. They rarely caused trouble for him or Simon, those that did could be 'removed' quite easily. Four piles of dissolved plasma lay across the street in a trash can, the only evidence of their more violent customers.

His relief, a grizzled female thug walked out, "Jameson, head on inside. The boss wants to see you. I'll relieve you." 'Jameson' nodded in appreciation and walked inside. He holstered his rifle onto his back as he took in his surroundings. After the past few days of honest, loyal work he had earned a reputation of being smart, quick thinking and surprisingly polite.

After being taken into the back room by Gloria she motioned to the seat in front of her desk. 'Jameson' accepted without complaint as the owner herself took her own padded chair. Instantly he noticed the safe behind her, and reminded himself to take a look inside the next chance he got.

"Mr. Jameson, let me start off by saying it has been a pleasure having you working the front door as of late. The past days have been remarkably successful, and even Simon is impressed by your decorum. You are both polite and curt with everyone, even the drunks and addicts across town." She took a breath, "There are many things we Van Graffs respect, and the most of them all is loyalty. That is why I've taken the liberty to increase your shift wages and bring you in as a permanent staff member here."

'Jameson' bowed his head slightly, "Your praise is completely unnecessary Miss Van Graff. I am merely doing my job and the tasks entailed with it in a professional manner."

The dark-skinned woman nodded, "You are intelligent as well Mr. Jameson. Many of those on my staff are regrettably unstable and violent. Such individuals cannot be tasked with sensitive roles that need to be filled. I didn't ask when I first interviewed you, but I am curious, have you been educated sometime in the past?"

The Courier nodded, "Yes Miss Van Graff. My father was a mercenary, I learned my combat skills and quick wit from him. My mother was a different matter altogether however. She was, for the lack of a better word, a scoundrel. Silver tongue, good with words and planning out in advance. She traveled far and wide, learning various languages and tribal traditions before settling down and teaching me all she knew."

The owner nodded, "That's why I'm moving you off the front door. Your talents are simply wasted being a simple guard outside. I need someone to work here in the office and handle sensitive issues such as money and paperwork."

'Jameson' thought briefly before responding, "I think I can do that Miss Van Graff, I'll need to see what all of my duties are first however before I make a decision however."

"A fair compromise Mr. Jameson, I'll see to it that I show you your duties in their entirety."

* * *

**The Lucky 38 – Presidential Suite**

**1500 Hours**

Louise Valliere was beyond bored.

After sitting in the stuffy Pre-War casino for days she was slowly going batty. The noblewoman had gone as far as to try juggling Microfusion Cells, with predictably hilarious (for Veronica anyhow) results. Her head ached at the memory of her face plant into the floor, she quickly massaged it away before returning to her book.

The lack of boredom hadn't kept her from trying to stay productive however. Veronica had taken it upon herself to begin teaching the pinkette how to understand English letters and writing. She had quickly caught on and began reading the books throughout the suite. She gingerly turned the page as she continued to read the history book provided for her.

From what she had learned, society had begun to stagnate in the middle of the 20th century. Cultural icons, music, even art remained at a standstill, for no explainable reason.

_'Even Tristain had fashion changes over the years, I've seen several new styles come and go in just my lifetime alone.'_

It made virtually no sense, especially once she began reading more slanted and biased subjects that begun in the 21st century. Communism, the evils of it culminating in an almost religious hatred of a type of government. It reminded her too much of the more radical members of the clergy. The level of hatred they displayed was enough to make the young woman uncomfortable.

She closed the book and sighed, "I need to find something else to do." Louise snapped her fingers, "Hey, Veronica?"

A muffled voice replied, "Yes Louise?"

"Is there anything else I need to learn while we're stuck in here?"

"You know how to pick locks?"

The noblewoman scoffed sarcastically, "A lady of my rapport does not need to pick locks."

The Scribe answered by tossing a package of bobby pins into her lap, "You aren't pulling that crap with me young lady, I'll go get a footlocker for you to practice on.

* * *

**The Silver Rush**

**1650 Hours**

After most of the afternoon, 'Jameson' had been familiarized with the responsibilities and duties of his new position. Money managing and calculating income was fairly easy, given his natural aptitude for math and his Pip-Boy. Basic weapons maintenance was also a task easily accomplished, but it had taught him a few new tricks for fixing up energy weaponry. He didn't have access to the safe for obvious reasons, but his own knowledge regarding locks would be more than sufficient to crack it.

In addition to stealing whatever proof was obviously inside, the Courier would need some way to cover up the crime. Many potential options existed that were simply too dangerous or immoral. Killing all inside was a possibility but he knew that such attention would defeat the purpose of his infiltration. Simply stealing it and damning the consequences was another potential plan, with the same results.

He said his goodbyes and made his way to the hideout he had 'liberated' from a thug that attacked him. Hidden inside a partially collapsed building was a small, nearly unnoticed sewer entrance that boasted a small room. The smell of rot normally associated with the sewers wasn't present due to the concrete filling Mr. House had used to seal off the Strip.

The same concrete failed to completely fill in this section, which was little more than a short hallway with the standard circular foyer holding a service ladder. Winfield had little doubts he could (eventually) dig his way into the still open sewer system that surrounded the city.

_'I would need a team of expert miners, proper equipment, and a lot of a dynamite to pull that off.'_

It didn't mean the infiltrator had given up however. With a super sledge that was in the hideaway, he had lengthened the hallway a good seven feet since he had arrived there. It had allowed him to set up a bedroll in the hallway behind the steel door for additional protection. None of the drunks had found him yet, the lights of the Atomic Wrangler being far more attractive to potential problems.

Before he could enter however, Winfield noticed that he was being tailed by someone in plainclothes, who exuded a sense of veiled lethality. After turning a blind corner casually, he drew his sawed off shotgun and caught the rogue as he passed the building's edge.

He cocked both barrels, "There had better be a damned good reason for you following me."

The man turned towards Winfield, causing him to scowl fiercely. The man smiled, "It's been some time, hasn't it Mr. Winfield?"

* * *

**Tristain Magic Academy**

**That Same Time**

Romalian Knight Sir Julio Chesare leapt off his mount and landed perfectly on the freshly manicured grass. He took in the sights around him, and was intrigued by the former fortress' alignment with the sunset.

He smirked, _'I wonder if anyone has ever noticed that before.'_

"Excuse me, can I help you find someone my Lord?"

The blonde turned and saw a young, voluptuous maid bowing deeply, "Yes, my name is Lord Julio Chesare, I come bearing His Holiness St. Aegis XXXII's blessing to assist Professor Jean Colbert."

"He just retired for the night, he has been working in the archives for over a day without rest. Would you like a room prepared for you my Lord?"

Julio's trademark smile answered causing a small trickle of blood to drip down Siesta's nose, "That would be wonderful Miss-?"

"Siesta of Tarbes my Lord," she quickly stammered out.

"Very well Siesta," the Romalian kissed her on the knuckles, "Lead on."

* * *

**Freeside**

"Vulpes Inculta. The Butcher of Nipton."

The Frumentarri smirked, "I prefer '_Liberator_' Mr. Winfield. I was liberating the souls of the wicked from their mortal bodies."

The Courier rolled his eyes, "Continue being delusional Vulpes, I'm sure it helps you sleep at night."

"It certainly does Mr. Winfield. I have not come to cleanse Freeside, but to deliver a message. One you would be foolish to dismiss."

Thoughts went through Winfield's head as it finally clicked, "Caesar."

Vulpes nodded, "On the first guess as well. Your reputation precedes you Mr. Winfield." He handed a bronze medallion to the Courier, "My Lord, Caesar has expressed interest in meeting with you. Regarding a man named 'Benny.' He said you would know who he was referring to."

A growl came from the Courier as he snatched the medallion out of the Legion Spy's hand, "Oh, I certainly do. What can you tell me?"

"Nothing more at this point Mr. Winfield. All I am here to say is that the Mark of Caesar in your hand will permit you safe passage to the Fort. All crimes against the Legion are hereby forgiven, but take heed. This is the only respite you will receive from My Lord Caesar. Nor will he wait forever."

The Frumentarri walked past the Courier and vanished into the night as he gazed upon the medallion in his hands.

'_This just became even _more _complicated.'_

* * *

**Tristain Magic Academy**

**Dawn**

Julio awoke as soon as the first rays of sunlight entered his quarters and immediately began his morning prayers. He knelt at the window and bowed his head as he begged Brimir for a quick, and fulfilling completion of his mission in Tristain.

In addition to being left alone by all the women in the Academy while he performed his duties.

He stripped his nightclothes, which was nothing more than a set of linen slacks and washed his face in the bucket of water provided for him. After ensuring no sites of his body were dirtied or unclean he dried himself and put on his knight's uniform and cloak.

Just as he finished, a light knocking came from the door. "Lord Chesare, you asked to be awoken at dawn?"

He came to the door and opened it, "I'm awake, thank you anyways."

His infectious smile made Siesta audibly gulp as she flushed. "Is there anything My Lord needs," she finished with a purr, "performed?"

Julio couldn't help but laugh softly, "Just take care of my laundry and replace the bucket of water. That's all I will be needing. Thank you once again Siesta." He flipped her a single ECU earning him a solid nod as she grabbed his laundry and bucket in one hand and quickly walked out.

He checked his uniform, and found no creases or missing decorations. He walked out of his room and upon receiving directions to the library, made his way downstairs.

* * *

Professor Colbert had been awoken at dawn as well, grateful to have gotten a proper night's sleep. The fire mage was still exhausted from his research, but he knew that additional assistance would be coming soon enough.

He stopped only to change clothes before returning to the Archives, and was surprised to find a non-faculty member in the sealed section without an escort.

"Excuse me, but only authorized members of the faculty are permitted entry into the Fenrir Library."

The blonde nobleman nodded, "Of course, I assume you are Professor Jean Colbert?"

Colbert nodded, "I am he, you seem to have me at a disadvantage Mister-?"

"Lord Julio Chesare, His Holiness has sent me to aid you in your investigation."

The balding man smiled and shook his hand, "A pleasure. How much assistance can I expect from the Church on this matter?"

"His Holiness had permitted me to assist in whatever way possible. In addition, I have been authorized to speak on more sensitive Church records and history at my own discretion."

"I apologize Lord Chesare, I am considerably surprised by the level of cooperation His Holiness has permitted in this situation."

The Romalian nodded, "As was I when He briefed me personally." The professor's eyes widened as he continued with a hushed voice, "Are we safe from prying eyes and ears here?"

Colbert looked around before whispering his reply, "Not entirely, my workshop in Vestry Square would be more secure for a private discussion."

"Understandable, where are you on your research? Perhaps I can be of some assistance."

* * *

**Freeside **

**0850 Hours**

'Jameson' walked into the Silver Rush with his Van Graff armor and weapon equipped. Simon nodded and held his hand up to stop him, "There's been a change in plans Jameson, Miss Van Graff needs you outside for a few hours."

The Courier nodded, "Alright, what's going on?"

Simon shook his head, a scowl across it, "My relief decided to try eating Lakelurk last night, she's under the Gamma at the moment over at the old Mormon Fort getting her system flushed out."

He took a glance at his Pip-Boy, "No one ever seems to have Geiger counters anymore, do they?"

The senior guard scoffed, "I'm fairly sure we can count how many people have them on one hand Jameson. In any case, here comes another customer, look sharp!"

A man approached them, a caravaneer or small time trader came up to the gate and halted. "I was told I have to declare whatever weapons I'm carrying?"

'Jameson' nodded, "Correct sir. You'll need to be searched for any additional weapons of course, but voluntarily doing so never hurt."

"I don't think that's really necessary-."

A calm passed through 'Jameson' as he held up his hand, "I'm sure you have nothing to fear."

The man seemingly relaxed and allowed himself to be searched. Surprisingly, he found nothing on the visitor that suggested foul play.

"See? I told you that you had nothing to fear from being searched. I'll take your weapon and place it in the trunk here for safekeeping. Head on inside."

The trader scratched his head nervously, "Sorry about that, it's a real nervous habit of mine."

The Courier could sense something was off about this one, but sent him in anyways.

_'God I hope I'm-.'_

A massive blast that echoed through the narrow doorway blasted Winfield off his feet and bounced him across the ground like a tennis ball. He let out a low, pained growl once he came to a stop, the sensation of cracked ribs clearly present.

He spat out blood, "Apparently I wasn't." Winfield got onto his feet and ran into the ruined building.

The interior was torn apart, with weapons and ammunition scattered across the ground. The ceiling had collapsed in the center of the building, the head and chest of Jean-Baptiste hung limply, the rubble crushing all else. A guard had been impaled on the wall itself, an old rusted pipe ran through his windpipe and spine. All that remained of Gloria was several scattered body parts and her head that had been driven through the ceiling.

Three high-end weapons the Van Graffs held were on the far side of the building, beside the exterior wall. The Courier atomized all three and quickly made his way into the back. The backroom had suffered less damage, but everything had been knocked loose in the blast. The safe had been cracked open by the shockwave, several documents inside. He quickly grabbed them and made his way out the front door.

He clicked on a Stealth Boy and vanished as the citizens of Freeside ran towards the burning building.

* * *

**The Lucky 38**

**0945 Hours**

The Courier stumbled into the ground level of the isolated structure and dragged himself into the elevator. As soon as he had cloaked, the locals came to scavenge the spoils like locusts. It wasn't long before the Kings showed up and secured the still smoldering building, even getting into firefights with the drunks who had armed themselves. He had made it to the Vegas Gate and had been allowed through, the Securitron's sensors able to penetrate his cloak.

"Well howdy partner! It seems you are worse for wear!"

Winfield simply looked up and rolled his eyes, "Just get me up to the presidential suite tin-can."

* * *

The sound of the elevator's bell ringing caught the attention of the others as they ate. All of them, except Lily rushed out the door and saw a seriously wounded Courier crawl out.

"James!"

* * *

**A/N: And we end the chapter here folks! See the author's note below this deleted scene!**

**Now for a moment that didn't quite make the cut. . . .**

**Lucky 38**

**1000 Hours**

The Courier walked in and heard commotion in the bathroom. He carefully inched his way over and instantly heard a bunch of girls exerting themselves. Grunts being caused by something kept emerging from more than one person as Lily began to speak, "Little Lucy this isn't right you know! I can take care of myself just fine. Leo is rather excited though."

Winfield swallowed and tapped on the wall before moving the curtain to the side, "Is everyone alright in here-?"

The man stopped in his tracks and simply gawked in confusion at what was unfolding in front of him.

Louise, and Veronica were in their underwear scrubbing Lily. The Nightkin looked annoyed, but tolerant of the awkward situation.

* * *

Louise blushed a dark crimson as she picked up the loofah with a stick attached and chucked it at the Courier. The man was so engrossed by the situation in front of him he failed to notice the soft, soapy end smash him in the eye.

"YOU DOG!"

(End Scene)

* * *

**A/N: Am I sorry? Not one bit, not one little bit. This story is far more serious than the anime was, and that last little bit felt a bit too fun for my tastes.**

**In any case, Cass's Companion Quest has effectively been completed, her main enemy crushed underfoot. We will finish up with any final details in the next chapter, and will be continuing forward with the story. Next stop, The King and Freeside!**

**"I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee."**


End file.
